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JK1521.A3 B69 1919
Bolshevik propaganda.
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BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA
HEARINGS
BEFORE A
"SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS
THIRD SESSION AND THEREAFTER
PURSUANT TO
S. RES. 439 AND 469
FEBRUARY 11, 1919, TO MARCH 10, 1919
Printed for the use of the Committee oh the Judiciary
:!JI i'!
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1919
X
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY.
CHAELES A. CULBERSON, Texas, dmirman.
LEE S. OVERMAN, North Carolina. KNUTE NELSON, Minnesota.
DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, Florida. WILLIAM P. DILLINGHAM, Vermont.
JAMES A. REED, Missouri. FRANK B. BRANDEGEE, Connecticut.
HENRY F. ASHURST, Arizona. WILLIAM E. BORAH, Idaho.
JOHN K. SHIELDS, Tennessee. ALBERT B. CUMMINS, Iowa.
THOMAS J, WALSH, Montana. MILES POINDEXTER, Washington.
HOKE SMITH, Georgia. LeBARON B. COLT, Rhode Island.
WILLIAM H. KING, Utah. THOMAS STERLING, South Dakota.
JOSIAH O. WOLCOTT, Delaware.
C. W. JUKNEY, Clerk.
F. C. Edwaeds, Assistant Clerk.
Subcommittee.
Mr. OVERMAN, Chair-man.
Mr. KING- Mr. NELSON.
Mr. WOLCOTT. Mr. STERLING.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Text of resolution authorizing hearings 6
Excerpts from testimony of Thomas J. Tunney in German propaganda
hearings 6
Excerpts from testimony of Arclilbald E. Stevenson in German prop-
aganda hearings 11
Testimony of William Chapin Huntington 36, 67
Testimony of Samuel N. Harper 88
Testimony of George A. Simons 109, 141
Testimony of E. B. Dennis 163
Testimony of Robert F. Leonard 194, 199
^Testimony of Robert M. Storey 229
Testimony in executive session 235
Testimony of Mrs. Catherine Breshkovskaya 241
Testimony of Rogers Smith 252
Testimony of 'William W. Welsh 264, 267
Testimony of Roger E. Simmons 293, 308, 339
Letter from Louis Marshall, president American Jewish Committee 378
Statement by Simon AVolf 381
Testimony of Herman Bernstein 383
Testimony of Theodor Kryshtofovich 417
Testimony of Col. Y. S. Hurbau 434, 447
Testimony of Carl W. Ackerman 462
Testimony of Louise Bryant (Mrs. John Reed) . 466
Testimony of John Reed 561
Testimony of Albert Rhys Williams 603, 649
Text of resolution extending hearings 693
Testimony of Bessie Beatty B93
Testimony of Frank Keddie 723
Testimony of Raymond Robins 763, 857, 1007
Testimony of Gregor A. Martiuszlne 896
Testimony of Frederick H. Hatzel 922
Statement of Col. V. S. Hurban 921
Testimony of Oliver M. Sayler 933
Testimony of David R. Francis 935
Letter and statement from Catherine Breshkovskaya 1032
Matters submitted by Edwin Lowry Humes 1034
Documents submitted l)y Senator Sterling 1101
Matters submitted by the Postmaster General 1110
Excerpt from " The German-Bolshevik Conspiracy " 1125
Text of Bolshevik constitution of July 10, 1918 1159
Appendix, translation of Bolshevik laws 1169
3
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
TUESDAY, rEBBtlABT 11, 1919.
United States Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, D. C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to the call of the chairman, at
10.30 o'clock a. m., in room No. 226, Senate Office Building, Senator
Lee S. Overman presiding.
Present': Senators Overman (chairman). King, Wolcott, Nelson,
and Sterling.
The subcommittee had on February 11, 1919, concluded hearings,
held under Senate resolution 307, on the subjects of pro-German
propaganda and activities of the United States -Brevpers' Association
and its allied interests' in the liquor business,, which were published in
two volumes (2,975 pages) entitled "Brewing and Liquor Interests
and German Propaganda." Senate resolution 307 was passed by the
Senate on September 19, 1918, and is as follows :
Whereas Honorable A. Mitchell Palmer, Custodian of Allen Property, on or about
September fourteenth made the following statement :
" The facts will soon ajipear which will conclusively show that twelve or
fifteen German brewers of America, in association with the United States
Brewers' Association, furnished the money, amounting to several hundred
thousand dollars, to buy a great newspaper in one of the chief cities of the,
ISTation ; and its publisher, without disclosing whose money had bought that
organ of public opinion, in the very Capital of the Nation, in the shadow of
the Capitol itself, has been fighting the battle of the liquor traffic.
" When the traffic, doomed though it is, undertakes and seeks by these secret
methods to control party nominations, party machinery, whole political
parties, and thereby control the government of State and Nation, it is time the
people know the truth.
" The organized liquor traffic of the country is a vicious interest because
it has been unpatriotic, because it has been pro-German in its sympathies and
Its conduct. Around these great brewery organizations owned by rich men,
almost all of them are of German birth and sympathy, at least before we
entered the war, has grown up the societies, all the organizations of this
country intended to keep young German immigrants from becoming real
American citizens.
" It is around the sangerfests and sangerbunds and organizations of that
kind, generally financed by the rich brewers, that the young Germans who
come to America are taught to remember, first, the fatherland, and second,
America " ;
And
Whereas it has been publicly and repeatedly charged against the United States
Brewers' Association and allied brewing companies and interests that there
is in the Department of Justice and in the office of a certain United States
district attorney evidence showing:
That, the said United States Brewers' Association, brewing companies, and
allied interests have in recent years made contributions to political cam-
paigns on a scale without precedent in the political history of the country
and in violation of the laws of the land;
That, in order to control legislation in State and Nation they have exacted
pledges from candidates to office, including Congressmen and United States
Senators, before election, such pledges being on file ;
5
b BOLSHEVIK PBOPAGANDA.
That, in order to influence public opinion to their ends they have heavily-
subsidized the public press and stipulated when contracting for advertising
space with the newspapers that a certain amount be editorial space, the
literary material for the space being provided from the brewers' central
office in New York ;
That, in order to suppress expressions of opinion hostile to their trade and
political interests, they have set in operation an extensive system of boycot-
ting of American manufacturers, merchants, railroads, and other interests ;
That, for the furthering of their political enterprises, they have erected a
political organization to carry out their purposes ;
That they were allied to powerful suborganizations, among them the
German-American Alliance, whose charter was revoked by the unanimous
vote of Congress ; the National Association of Commerce and Labor ; and the
JIanufacturers and Dealers' Associations, and that tliey ha^e their ramifica-
tions in other organizations apparently neutral in character ;
That they have on file political surveys of States, counties, and districts
tabulating the men and forces for and against them, and that they have
paid large sums of money to citizens of the United States to advocate their
cause and interests, including some in the Government employ ;
That they have defrauded the Federal Government by applying to their
political corruption funds money which should have gone to the Federal
Treasury in taxes ;
That they are attempting to build up in the country through the control of
such organizations as the United States societies and by the manipulation of
the foreign language press, a political influence which can be turned to one
or the other party, thus controlling electoral results ;
That they, or some of their organizations, have pleaded nolo contendere to
charges filed against them and have paid fines aggregating large sums of
money : Therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, or any subcom-
mittee thereof, is hereby authorized and directed to call upon the Honorable
A. Mitchell Palmer, Alien Property Custodian, and the Department of Justice
and its United States district attorneys to produce the evidence and documents
relating to the eharses herein mentioned, and to subpoena any witnesses or
documents relating thereto that it may find necessary, and to make a report of
the results of such investigation and what is shown thereby to the Senate of the
United States as promptly as possible.
The present hearings are held under the following resolution
(S. Ees. 439) passed by the Senate on February 4, 1919 :
Resolved, That the authority of the Committee on the Judiciary conferred by
S. Res. 307 be, and the same hereby is, extended so as to include the power and
duty to inquire concerning any efforts being made to propagate in this country
the principles of any party exercising or claiming to exercise authority in
Russia, whether such efforts originate in this country or are incited or financed
from abroad, and, further, to inquire into any effort to incite the overthrow of
the Government of this country or all government by force, or by the destruc-
tion of life or property, or the general cessation of industry.
Maj. Edwin Lowry Humes, of the Judge Advocate General's
Department, United States Army, detailed by the "War Department
to assist the subcommittee in the hearings held under Senate resolu-
tion 307, appeared as counsel for the subcommittee in the present
hearings.
(The following excerpts from the testimony of Mr. Thomas J.
Tunney, an inspector of police, police department New York City,
before this subcommittee on Tuesday, January 21, 1919, pages 2679-
2681 and 2684-2687 of Volume II of the hearings entitled " Brewing
and Liquor Interests and German Propaganda," were ordered in-
serted in this record at this point :)
Mr. TuNNET. * * * We apprehended and secured evidence against Emma
Goldman and Alexander Berkman, and they were subsequently convicted for
trying to defeat the selective-draft act.
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. i
Senator Overman. Did you find a list of those people? .
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes; we found this original letter that was used in the testi-
mony in the Hindu case in San Francisco, and was also used against Emma
Goldman and Alexander Berkman in the trial in New York.
Senator Oveeman. Where is Emma Goldman now?
Mr. TuNNET. She is in prison at Jefferson City, Mo.
Senator Nelson. In a safe place?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes. She was ordered by the trial judge to be deported after
her term expires — both she and Berkman.
Senator Overman. What Is her native country?
Mr. TuNNEY. I think she is a native of Russia.
Senator Overman. She is ordered by the court to be deported after her term
is up?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes; that was ordered by the trial judge with regard to both
Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. There was some doubt as to whether
she was married to an American citizen or not.
Senator Overman. What age woman is she?
Mr. TuNNEY. She is a woman about 46 years of age ; a very able and Intelli-
gent woman and a very fine speaker.
Senator Overman. I know something about her, of course. How long has
she been in this country?
Mr. TuNNEY. Nearly 30 years.
Senator Overman. She is a fine speaker, you say?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes ; she is a very fine speaker.
Senator Nelson. She speaks good English?
Jlr. TuNNEY. She speaks English very fluently. In fact, I have heard news-
paper men say that she is a master of the English language. She and Berkman
defended themselves on their trial, and they put in a very able defense, and
their cross-examination of the prospective jurors was particularly noticeable.
Senator Overman. Is she a handsome woman?
Mr. TuNNEY. No ; she is not. I would not call her a very homely looking
woman, either. She was a rather good-looking woman when she was young.
She is a very stout woman.
Leon Trotsky, before he left New York, was a great associate of Emma Gold-
man and Alexander Berkman.
Senator Overman. That is the Russian leader?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes.
He called a meeting of the German socialists and Russians at the Harlem
River Park Casino, at One hundred and twenty-second Street and Second
Avenue, on the night of March 26, 1917, after the breaking oJ¥ of the diplomatic
relations between the United States and Germany, and he spoke in both German
and Russian that night, and this was the substance of his speech.
Senator Sterling. Who is that?
Mr. TuNNEY. Leon Trotsky.
Senator Overman. The foreign minister of the Bolsheviki.
Mr. Tunney. He said : " I am going back to Russia " — he was going the next
morning with about 35 or 40 of his associates, the names of whom, I believe,
the Military Intelligence has. There was a report submitted to Gen. Churchill,
and previous to that to Col. Van Deman. He said :
" I am going back to Russia to overthrow the provisional government and
stop the war with Germany and allow no Interference from any outside govern-
ments."
And he said :
" I want you people here to organize and keep on organizing until you are
able to overthrow this damned, rotten, capitalistic Government of this country."
He did leave the next morning, with his followers, on the Norwegian-
American Line ; and from that date until June 1 about 450 Russians left, with
various leaders, and they also went back there to roast the American commis-
sion that was over there at that time.
Two of the men who are now in the government over there were connected
with newspaper publications in New York. One of them was named William
Schatoff, and is commissioner of railroads.
Senator Nelson. Commissioner of railroads where?
Mr. Tunney. In Russia, now. Also, I understand, he is the new executioner
there in the place of Uritski, who was assassinated by a woman some time ago
in St. Petersburg.
8 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
There were some American boys coming out of St. Petersburg, and one of
them told me that he came up to them and spoke English to them, and said to
give his regards to Broadway, and had the train go back to St. Petersburg,
and kept them there until the next morning.
The other fellow, Wallen, was connected with the publications Novymlr and
Golatruda, Russian publications.
Senator NELS0^^ Russian publications in this country?
Mr. TuNNET. Yes.
Senator Sterling. Who else, may I ask. Inspector, accompanied Trotsky at
this time?
Mr. TuNNEY, I can not tell you the names. Senator, but the Military Intelli-
gence has a complete list of them, or a copy of them. I can get a copy if they
have not, from New York.
Senator Steeling. Did Lincoln Steffens accompany them?
Mr. TuNNET. No ; no Americans accompanied them at that time. They were
all Russians, but they were well-known anarchists, well known to some of my
men.
Senator Overman. I wish you would repeat the statement that Trotsky made
to them before lie left this country.
Mr. Tunnet. He said to keep on their organization here and they would
overthrow the Government of this country.
Senator Nelson. And knock out the capitalists?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes. He called It the " damned, rotten, capitalistic Govern-
ment.'' Those are the words that he used.
Senator Overman. Capitalistic Government?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes.
Senator Ovekman. Do you know whether they followed his ad\ice, or whether
they are going on with that work?
Mr. TuNNEY^. Yes. I would not say that it is very effective, but that is Ihe
talk amongst a lot of the same folloAvers now, sometimes in public and some-
times in secret conferences that they have.
Senator Nelson. You have a nest of those anarchists yet in New York, have
you not?
Sir. TuNNEY. Yes, Senator ; there are a lot of them there yet. I might say
that five of them were, subsequent to the conviction of Emma Goldman and
Alexander Berkman, apprehended for abusing the President and the Govern-
ment of the United States, and in .Tune they were convicted of violating the
espionage act ; and they were followers of Emma Goldman and were sentenced
to 20 years apiece. That was .lust a few months ago.
Senator Overman. What was Trotsky doing in this country before?
Mr. TuNNEY. He was ahvays talking to the Russians on organization. He
was connected with that ne^^•spape^ publication, the Novymir, and was very
ofteH delivering lectures both to Russians and Germans on anarchy while he
was here — radical socialism. He believed in the overthrow of all governments.
Senator Nelson. He spoke German as well as Russian?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes; very fluently.
Senator Nelson. What was his nationality?
Mr. TuNNEY. He is a Russian.
Senator Nelson. AVas he a Slav or a German?
Mr. TuNNEY'. He is a Russian.
Senator Nelson. A Russian?
Mr. TuNNEY'. A Russian .Tew ; but they do not believe in any religion, of
course. They are just as much opposed to the Jewish religion as any other.
They call themselves " Internationalists."
Senator Overman. Did he speak English as well as Russian and German?
Mr. TuNNEY. He spoke very little English.
Maj. Humes. You say that these followers of Emma Goldman and Alexander
Berkman were convicted and sentenced to 20 years?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes.
Maj. Humes. Do you remember what the sentence was that was imposed on
Emnta Goldman and Berkman?
Mr. TuNNEY. They were sentenced to two years each, which was the maxi-
mum sentence under the law at that time, the espionage act not being at that
time in effect.
I also remember that the sentence imposed on the bomb plotters was a year
and a half each, which was the maximum sentence under the law at that time ;
and then it was a subterfuge to get to try them under that, because it was never
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. \)
intended for criminals, but for legitimate shippers of explosives — in other words,
that they should notify the common carriers that they were shipping explosises
and comply with the Federal laws on that subject.
It * « 4; 3(( 4: *
Maj. Humes. What do you know about activities, since the armistice, on the
part of these people, the anarchists and others?
Mr. TUNNEY. They are very active. They hold secret meetings and they plan
to organize and disseminate propaganda by means of newspapers, small
pamphlets, and letters, and later on adopt other methods, which they have not
decided on up to the present time.
Senator Stealing. Is there evidence of renewed activity ou the part of these
anarchists, Mr. Tunney, since the armistice was signed?
Mr. Tunney. There is. Senator ; there is evidence, but hardly sufficient to
proceed against them up to the present time, with the right kind of witnesses.
You sometimes get this information direct from a secret agent that you can not
get him to testify to, because it takes years to get on the inside to find out cer-
tain things. You destroy his evidence after you use it in one case, and probably
jeopardize his life. Sometimes people think a man's life does not amount to
much if he accomplishes a whole lot of good ; that is, a man is willing to give
up his life for the cause of his country.
Maj. Humes. Do you know anything about the activities of Lenine in this
country?
Mr. Tunney. No ; I never found any of Lenine's connection here, never ; but
I do know about Trotsky and the other people.
Senator Nelson. How old a man was Trotsky?
Mr. TUiXNEY. I should judge Trotsky was a man, when he left here, of about
35 years of age.
Senator Nelson. What was his appearance?
Mr. Tunney. He was a typical Russian ; black, bushy, curly hair, and very
radical looking in appearance as well as in speech.
Senator Nelson. 'Was he a tall man or a short man?
Mr. Tunney. No ; he was of medium height. I should judge he was about
5 feet 6 or 5 feet 7.
Senator Overman. Was he employed In the hotels?
Mr. Tunney. No. I have heard that story. He used to write articles and
probably did take on different jobs. I think he used to write articles for various
Russian newspapers here.
Senator Overman. Did he have any other employment?
Mr. Tunney. Not that I know of.
Senator Overman. How long was he in this country?
Mr. Tunney. He was only in New York for a few months before he left.
He had traveled somewhat through the United States. What he did in the
other cities I do not know. I know only what he did in New York.
Senator Steeling. Did your activities lead you to investigate any newspapers
in New York or anywhere else?
Mr. Tunney. No ; no direct investigation. From time to time those foreign
newspaper investigations were turned over to men who understood the language.
Senator Nelson. Did you ever do anything in connection with Viereck's
" Fatherland" ?
Mr. Tunney. No ; I did not.
Senator Overman. Who owns the paper now that Trotsky was connected
with?
Mr. Tunney. Weinstein is one of the editors, and a fellow by the name of
Brailowsky.
Senator Overman. Really the same man thrt owned it when Trotsky
Mr. Tunney. Weinstein was associated with Trotsky in running it at the
time Trotsky was here.
Senator Overman. And he is now running it?
Mr. Tunney. Yes ; he is now running that paper.
Senator Sterling. Did you at that time seize or take into j'our possession, Mr.
Tunney, any material at newspaper offices which was meant for publication in
newspapers of an anarchistic nature?
Mr. Tunney. You mean in the American newspapers, Senator?
Senator Sterling. Yes.
Mr. Tunney. No ; I did not, with the exception of Emma Goldman's " Blother
Earth," and tlie " Blast," which were published in-Englrnd — two anarchistic pub-
10 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
lications. In fact, I never found any of the American or the English papers
connected with this movement at all.
Senator Nelson. Did Trotsky appear to be a man of education or ability?
Mr. TuNNEY. That was his reputation among the Russian people who speak
Engll.sh, that he was a man of ability among his own people, and quite a leader
of men.
Senator Steeling. Did you ever hear him speak, yourself?
Mr. TUNNEY. I did not. Senator. I saw him, though. But this information,
that I am testifying to, was by one of my o^^•n men, not a stool pigeon, but a
policeman who secured this information that I have testified to, and upon
which he based his reports at that time. That was turned over at that time
to the Military Intelligence, shortly after he made his speech, and I think they
turned it over to the State Department. That is on information, however. I do
know Trotsky was taken nff the steamer at Halifax and detained for a couple
of weeks. And while he was detained there people in New Y(]rk held a protest
meeting and demanded his release, and I think they sent a telegram to the
State Department in Washington at that time — some of the other radicals did —
and some time subsequent to that he was released.
Senator Overman. AVhat was the size of the meeting, do you remember, that
made the protest ?
Mr. TuNNEY. There were about 400 or 500 present. It was in a place called
the Lyceum. 64 East Fourth Street. New York. It was in April, 1917. after the
declaration of war. But there were over 1,000 present at the meeting the night
before he sailed from New York, at the Harlem River Park Casino. Emma
Goldman and Berkman were also present that nit;lit and listened to him speak,
f'apt. Lester. Do yon know how long Trotsky was in this country altogether?
Mr. Tt'NNEY. No : I know he was in New York only a few months. I do not
know how long he was in this country altogether.
Senator ()vee:man. Do you know who presided over that big meeting in which
he made a speech?
I\Ir. TUNNEY. ^Vho was the chairman, do you mean?
Senator Ovekman. Yes.
Mr. TuNNEY. I really do not know, but I think it was a man named Abra-
hams, who was subsequently convicted and sentenced to prison for 20 years for
violation of the espionage act. But I can find that out, I can get the names
of those A^ho were there.
Senator Overman. Did you have occasion to investigate the I. W. W. any?
Mr. TuNKEY. Yes ; in the early part of the European war they were making
a bomb to kill a couple of men here in the United States — three of the I. W. W's.
who were also associated with the anarchistic movement. Those men were
Carron. Berg, and Hanson. While making this bomb it prematurely exploded
and killed themselves, in an apartment house. One hundred and fourth Street.
It blew the front out of the building and killed the three of them, and killed
a woman up on the next floor. I might add that this fellovir Berg had a sister
known as Louise Berg, also referred to as " Dynamite Louise," who went back
shortly after Trotsky, with one or the other Russian bunch, to blow up some
of the officials in Russia.
Senatoi- Overman. Berg was one of the three conspirators engaged in the
manufactui-e of bombs?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes. There was a conspiracy to kill three prominent men in
this country at one time, and as many thereafter as they could.
Senator (Overman. Do you know who were the prominent men they had in
view?
Mr. TuNNEY. I do.
Senator Overman. Who were they?
Mr. TuNNEY. John D. Rockefeller, sr., and John D. Rockefeller, jr. It was
also discussed amongst them at that time that in order to wipe out families
there was no good in killing one or two in the family, that they should kill
them all, even to the children, and they used to talk from that time that the
best way to do it was to get servants in the employ of the households of these
prominent men, so as to get a line exactly on what the family was composed
of and what it consisted of.
Senator Overman. Have you noticed the carrying of the red flag in New,
York?
Mr. TuNNEY. No ; they stopped carrying that. They passed a local ordinance
prohibiting its being carried. They used to carry it at all meetings.
Senator Overman. What effect does that red flag have on a crowd?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 11
Mr. TuNNEY. It has the effect of creating a feeling on the part of Americans
that they would like to assassinate everybody carrying the red flag; or at
least, a large number of them feel that way.
Senator Overman. What effect does it have on the people who are in sym-
pathy with carrying the red flag?
Mr. Ttjnney. It simply enthuses them, and they indulge in cheering and ,
waviug it in the air.
Senator Ovebman. It inflames them?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes; and all those who are in sympathy with (hem. As soon
as the carrying of the red flag was stopped they started in to \Aear red neckties
and sometimes red flowers in their button holes.
Senator Nelson. Do you not think that the carrying of the red flag tends to
promote breaches of the p'.>ace?
Mr. TuNNEY. It does ; because it antagonizes Americans who are opposed to
them, and naturally there is a conflict right away. Americans claim they only
want one flag here, and th it is the Stars and Stripes.
Seantor Steeling. The red flag is usually understood to be the emblem of
anarchy ?
Mr. TuNNEY. Yes ; it is the emblem of anarchy. They sometimes call it
Internationalism. There are some modern Socialists who do not believe in the
red flag. The radical Socialists do not believe in any form of government at
all ; their motto is, " Do as you like," and everybody do the same ; they have no
regard for law, and they do not believe in law.
Senator Overman. One of their creeds is " Down with capital " ?
Mr. TuNNEY. " Down with capital and Government." They claim capital is
responsible for all government. They blame the churches for standing in their
way. They sometimes say they would like to destroy the churches. I met a
man one night some time ago who claimed the only way to destroy every build-
ing was to blow it down with dynamite. There was another man present who
said he did not believe in destroying buildings of ai't and science and where
literature vras kept, but all other buildings he would destroy. He differed to
that extent from the other fellow..
Senator Nelson. How many of those anarchists and those radicals, I. W. W.'s
and anarchists, have you in New York? As nearly as you can tell, how many
are there?
Mr. Tunney. Do you mean. Senator, who belong to organizations or associ-
ations?
Senator Nelson. No ; I mean that belong to such organizations or believe
in that gospel.
Senator Overman. Who sympathize with them.
Senator Nelson. Yes ; who sympathize with them.
Mr. Tunney. I believe there are 12,000 or 15,000 in New York. I mean those
who sympathize with the real radical movement. I should say we probably
have 50,000 who more or less sympathize with them.
Senator Nelson. They are mostly foreigners, are they not?
Mr. Tunney. Mostly foreigners.
Senator Nelson. From what part of the old country?
Mr. Tunney. The three principal nationalities that they represent are Rus-
sians, Spaniards — I am talking now about the anarchist group — and the Italians,
mixed up with some Germans. There are a few radical Irishmen and English-
men and a few Americans. There are very few of these English-speaking people
with the exception of — well, there is a very small percentage of them that mix
up with the real anarchistic groups.
Senator Nelson. Are there many Americans mixed up with them?
Mr. Tunney. Very few.
(The following excerpts from the testimony of Mr. Archibald E.
Stevenson, in Volume II of the hearings before the same subcommit-
tee entitled "Brewing and Liquor Interests and German Propa-
ganda," were ordered inserted in this record:)
[From testimony taken on Wednesaay, January 22, 1919, pages 2715, 2716, 2717, and
Mr. Stevenson. * * * With the declaration of war by the United States
the raison d'§tre for the Emergency Peace Federation and the American Neutral
Conference CJommittee ceased to exist, and they became defunct.
12 BOLSHEVIK pkopaga:sda.
However, the movement continued to become more radical, and on August
4, 1917, the I'eoplt's Council of America for Democracy and Peace was organ-
ized, with offices at 2 AVest Thirteenth Street, New York City.
Among the officers and executive committee are found Louis P. Lochner,
Leila Faye Secor, Rebecca Shelley, Scott Xearing, Jacob Panken — who, by the
way, is an extremely radical speaker, and a judge of the municipal court in New
York City ; Aigern in Lee. socialist alderman, New York City ; 5Iax Eastman ;
Emily Greene BaU h ; Judah L. Magnes ; Morris Hillquit ; Eugene V. Debs, who
is now serving a sentence for violation of the espionage act ; Irving St. John
Tucker, who was just convicted with Victor Berger for violation of the same
act ; and the treasurer of tliis organization is David Starr Jordan.
The advent of tl.is organization was hailed with enthusiasm by the German
propagandists, and wide publicity was given to it in the German organs, such
as Issues and Events, The Fatherland, etc.
The object, of course, was to discourage the military activities of the
United States and to bring about peace.
In a telegram which was sent by Leila Faye Secor to President Wilson they
stated that their membership is 1,800,000.
Senator Nelson. Evidently these organizations were all in opposition to
Gen. Pershing's organization over in France?
Mr. Ste\tsxson. That is certainly the impression that one might get,
Senator.
This telegram to President Wilson states :
" The organizing committee of the Peojile's Council of America, now repre-
senting 1,800,000 consituents, believe that a combination of world events makes
it Imperative that Congress speak in no uncertain terms on the question of
peace and war."
Senator Wolcott. What is the date of that telegram?
Mr. Steve>:son. This was in August, 1917.
Senator Nelsox. After we entered the war?
Senator Wolcott. After Congress had spoken.
Senator Nelson. Yes ; we spoke in April, did we not?
Senator Wolcott. Yes.
Mr. Stevenson (continuing reading) :
" The eminent position of our country among the Allies and the democratic
members of our Government, and the lives and the future happiness of the
young manhood of our Nation all demand that Congress should no longer re-
main silent and inactive on what is now the supreme interest of mankind,
how to bring a just and lasting peace into the world. * * *
" The Russian people are united for peace, based on the formula which is
gaining acceptance everywhere : No forcible annexations, no punitive indem-
nities, and free development for all nationalities. * * * "
Senator Wolcott. They might also have added : "And victory for Ger-
many "?
Mr. Stevenson (continuing reading) :
" Thus we have the representative assemblies of Russia, Germany, and Eng-
land debating peace terms while only the American Congress remains sijent
in this fateful war.
" Forward-looking men and women throughout the world are looking expect-
antly to Congress. Democracy is shamed by your silence."
That was a telegram addressed by this organization to President Wilson
personally. This organization is still in operation, and they held a dinner last
Monday evening in New York City, at which Scott Nearing presided, and they
determined to flood the country with handbill propaganda, because their litera-
ture has been denied the use of the mails.
Senator Wolcott. What have they in mind now? What is the nature of
their propaganda now?
Mr. Stevenson. They are taking up the league of nations. They are seeking
the amnesty of all political prisoners. They do not want any military estab-
lishment here. It is a very mixed type of propaganda. I do not know exactly
what they are doing.
Senator King. It is practically the overthrow of our republican form of
government, and the establishment of a^
Senator Nelson. Bolshevik government?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 13
Senator King. Yes.
Mr. Stevenson. There are a large number of persons connected with tlils
organization that sympathize with the Bolshevik and Soviet form of govern-
ment.
Senator King. Class government is what they want.
Mr. Stevenson. I think we shall have to wait until we see their propaganda
before we know exactly what they are doing.
Senator Wolcott. There's no telling what they are going to do?
Mr. Stevenson. I do not think so.
The outgrowth of this People's Council was the Liberty Defense Union, with
offices at 138 West Thirteenth Street, New York City, in which there is a
curious mixture of intelligentsia and anarchists, radical socialists and-
Senator Wolcott. What do you men by "intelligentsia" — intellectuals?
Mr. Stevenson. Intellectuals.
Senator Nelson. Senator, it means those anarchists who confine their opera-
tions to brain storms and not to physical force.
Mr. Stevenson. Among the members of this organization were the Rev. John
Haynes Holmes ; Scott Nearing ; Elizabeth Gurley Flinn, who is well known as
an I. W. W. ; Max Eastman ; Kate Richards O'Hare — and, by the way, there is
an extremely interesting connection. Kate Richards O'Hare is now serving a
sentence for violation of the espionage act, but she was an associate of Nicho-
las Lenine in the International Bureau, the People's House, in Brussels before
the war, in 1914.
Senator Wolcott. This question has been running through my mind, Mr.
Stevenson : Is it not a fact that these people, after all their efforts and agitation
and the expenditure of a great deal of labor and emotional energy, after all
did not make any kind of an impression at all on the plain, common-sense Amer-
ican people — speaking by and large, I mean ; they did not make any dents, did
they?
Mr. Stevenson. I think if you really mean the American people, I should
say no. Senator.
Senator Wolcott. That is what I mean. I mean the ordinary American
citizen.
Mr. Stevenson. But it is a fact that
Senator Wolcott. Of course, they can make some trouble here and there in
spots ; but, taking the great body of the American people, were they not too
level headed to be influenced by this outfit?
Mr. Stevenson. We must remember. Senator, that the American people — -
and by that I mean really American people — are not present in very large num-
bers in our industrial centers. They have made a very great impression on the
foreign element, which we will develop in the progress of the radical movement.
I have brought in this pacifist movement in this way because of its direct
connection with the subsequent radical movement, which is the thing which is
of most importance before the country to-day.
In connection with this Liberty Defense Union, Amos Pinchot was also a
member ; Eugene V. Debs ; Henry Wadsworth Dana, a late professor of Colum-
bia University ; David Starr Jordan ; Abram Shiplacoff, a Socialist assembly-
man in New York ; James H. Maurer, of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor ;
and a large number of other persons of similar character.
The result of the Ford peace mission was the establishment of an interna-
tional committee of women for permanent peace, which was organized at The
Hague in 1915. They organized a special branch for the United States and that
branch had a subsidiary in New York City, which is now known as the Women's
International League.
It is rather interesting to note that at a meeting held on the 28th of November
in New York City by this league, among the other literature which was dis-
seminated was a pamphlet by a man known as Louis T. Fraina, entitled " Bol-
shevism Conquers," and the meeting resulted in a riot by some unattached sol-
diers that did not like the general tenor of the meeting.
Senator Nelson. They broke it up?
Mr. Stevenson. Mrs. Henry Villard, the mother of Oswald Garrison VlUard,
was the honorary chairman ; Crystal Eastman was the chairman ; and Prof.
Emily Greene Balch was also a member of that organization.
*******
Before going into the radical movement, I think it might be wise to define the
three principal kinds of radical thought which go to make up the radical move-
14 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
ment and which are merging in the development of Bolshevism. If you would
care for me to give a brief theoretical analysis, I will do so.
Senator Nelsox. Yes ; but be brief.
. Senator King. Tes ; I was just asliing a member of the committee here
whether that would be relevant to the issues which we were to investigate.
Would the radical movement now have anything to do with the German propa-
ganda or the investigation of the activities of the brewers?
Senator Nelson. I think so. I think they are still carrying on that propa-
ganda now.
Senator King. If that is traceable, of course, to the German propaganda, or
is a part of the Germ^an propaganda, I think that would be relevant. Other-
wise, I do not see its relevancy.
Let me ask you, Mr. Stevenson, is it your contention that this is a part of
the German propaganda?
Jlr. Stevensox. I think it is a result of the German propaganda. I call your
attention to these numbers of Issues and Events, which is a ijropaganda maga-
zine. They begin to sive publicity to Leon Trotsky here. [Indicating.] There
is a history of Leon Trotsky in this magazine.
IFrom testimony taken on Wednesday, January 22, 1919, pages 2729, 2737, 2738, 2739,
and 2740 :]
Mr. Stevenson. The corollary of the propaganda which was mentioned this
morning, and in which a large number of tlie persons engaged in the pacifist
organizations have taken part and now take part, is what may be generally
classified as the radical movement, which is developing sympathy for the Bol-
sheviki movement, and which in many quarters constitutes a revolutionary
movement among the radical element in this country.
Senator King.. Your contention is that this is the result of German propa-
ganda, had its origin in Germany, and therefore would be properly investigated
under the resolution of this committee?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes. The Bolsheviki movement is a branch of the revolu-
tionary socialism of Germany. It had its origin in tbe philosophy of Marx
and its leaders were Germans.
Senator King. And is this German socialism of this country and BoLshevism
of this country the product of or taught by these organizations to which you
referred this morning, in part?
Mr. Stevenson. The membership of those organizations was in large part
made up of persons either members of the Socialist Party or in sympathy
with it.
Senator Nelson. You mean that the German socialism was imported into
this country by these men?
Jlr. Stevenson. By some of these men.
Senator Nelson. That is what I mean.
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
A A * :^ V * *
Senator Overman. Here is an exhibit that you put in, Mr. Stevenson, called
the California Defense Bulletin, tbe issue of December 2. 1918. It says :
" THE SPREAD OF BOLSHEVISM.
" Great things are about to happen. In fact something has happened that
has sent a thrill of joy through the heart of every true internationalist.
" Germany has followed the example set by Russia ; the Kaiser and his mili-
tarist gang have been pulled down from their high horses, and the workmen
and soldiers have taken over the reins of the government.
" The inspiring news was flashed through the world that the soldiers and
sailors had joined the revolution, thus avoiding a bloody and long-drawn civil
war. It is apparent that the Russian Bolsheviki had carried on an agitation
among the German soldiers as well as among the civilian population, and the
results are such that we feel inclined to tip our hats to the Bolsheviki and
excJaim : ' Well done, brave soldiers of the class war.'
" But Bolshevism is contagious. It is now reported that a revolution is brew-
ing in Holland. There have been strikes and riots in Switzerland, and In
Copenhagen, Denmark. In Sweden there has been a manifesto issued calling
the workers and soldiers to unite and organize along the same line as in Russia.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 15
, "The writer is acquainted with conditions, and is aware of the sentiment
among those opposing the Swedish Army, and it is safe to predict that the
transformation, or rather the revolution will be accomplished without much
bloodshed. Our Swedish fellow workers have for years carried on a systematic
agitation against militarism, and have gone into the barracks and training
camps distributing literature — and that they have been successful nobody who
knows the real state of affairs can deny. It is only a question of time, and
it may be nearer than we can realize when the Swedes will , straighten up and
throw the profiteers and militarists oflf their backs. They are slow in starting,
but when they set out to do anything, they usually do a perfect job.
" Let the ' patriotic profiteers' howl and shout tJiemselves hoarse. Let -tliem
summon all their stony-faced judges and their hypocritic pulpiteers — it will be
to no avail. They can not stop the onward march of labor. The day of indus-
trial freedom is drawing near. Get ready and do your part to speed the day."
Does that indicate, taken in connection with what you have referred to in
these other publications, that there is an organization In this country, now, to
bring about a Bolsheviki revolution?
Mr. Stevenson. I believe that is the desire of a number of the leaders. I
would not want to say it as definitely proved.
Senator Overman. These papers indicate that that is going on now?
Mr. Stevenson. All of these papers seem to indicate that.
The other publications of the Socialist Labor Party are the following news-
papers: Arbetaren (Swedish), Volksfreund und Arbelter-Zeitung (German),
Proletareets (Lettish), A Munkas (Hungarian), Radnucka Borba (South
Slavonian).
I believe they are also planning to have a Jewish paper.
Senator Nelson. They are carrying on this propaganda?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Senator Oveeman. So that it looks as if it were nearly world-wido — this so-
cialism and Bolshevism and syndicalism. This appears to show that this propa-
ganda is prevalent throughout the whole -world, advocating a revolution in
every country in the world— even in Sweden and Switzerland?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
The prosecution of the I. W. W. enlisted the sympathy and support of the
Socialist Party of America. This was shown by an interesting leaflet printed in
Yiddish, which was picked up in the I. W. W. hall, 74 St. Mark's Place, New
■ York, in the middle of December last year. The translation of it is as follows:
" Socialists attention :
" The National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party not long a'go de-
clared at a session that the socialist party repeat the declaration of support of
all the economic organizations of the working class and declares that listings,
deportations and persecutions of the I. W. W. constitute an attack upon evei-y
American working man.
" And we call attention to the fact that the charges against the I. W. W. on
the ground that they burnt crops and forests and destroyed a lot of property
having been submitted to a legal test turned out to be all lies.
" The socialist party has always lent its material and moral support to or-
ganized labor everywhere, and whenever attacked by the capitalistic class,
.whatever was the character of the organizations. We therefore pledge our-
selves to support the I. W. AV.'s who are to be tried at Chicago and other places,
asking for a fair trial and without prejudice, and we ask our members to do
everything in their power to help the I. W. W. by informing the public of the
true facts, and also to refute the falsehoods and misinformation wherewith the
capitalist press poisons and prejudices public sentiment against these workers
who are chosen for destruction just as other workmen and leaders have been
repeatedly doomed to destruction by the same capitalists.
" Socialists collect funds and send to the I. W. W.
" Bring the matter up in your local organizations and branch meetings and
ask them to send two delegates to the I. W. W. Defense Committee that meets
every Sunday at 3 p. m. 74 St. Mark's Place, New York.
"All contributions are sent by the above mentioned address to the general
office at Chicago. . .
" I W W. Defense Committee, 1001 West Madison St., Chicago, 111.
"All checks to be made payable to W. D. Haywood, general secretary
" Greetings of the I. W. W. Defense Committee of New York."
16 BOLSHEVIK TT.OPXGANDA.
That centers attention on the Socialist Party in America and on socialism in
general.
I should like to point out that socialism may be divided roughly into two
principal kinds, one of which is the conservative evolutionary branch, which is
sometimes known as the opportunist or possibilist, which desires to bring about
its purpose throufjh parlianieutiiry action and tlie power of the ballot. The
second branch, which is the revolutionary socialism, otherwise called impossl-
bilist, is the official German socialism, and is the father of the Bolsheviki move-
ment in Russia, and consequently the radical movement which we have in this
country to-day has its origin in Germany.
Senator Nelso>;. Is that a part of their kultur?
Mr. Stevenson. It was one of the manifestations of their kultur, I believe.
Senator Overman. You used the word " impossibilist." Why do they call it
that?
Mr. Stevenson. Because they found it impossible to cooperate with existing
forms of government.
Senator Overman. And they wanted to tear down the existing form of gov-
ernment?
Jlr. Stevenson. Yes.
The capture of the Socialist Party in America in April, 1917, by the revolu-
tionary socialist element is of particular interest because the members of the
committee which brought in the majority report, the committee on war and
militarism of that convention, had for its leader Kate Richards O'Hare, and
Mr. Victor Berger was a member of that committee. Both of these persons
were delegates from the United States to the International Socialist Bureau
at Brussels, which carried out its world-wide propaganda from the People's
House in Brussels. Representatives from other countries were Nicholas Lenine,
the leader of Russian Bolshevism, and Rosa Luxemburg.
Senator Nelson. Lately deceased?
Mr. Steve>'son. Lately deceased ; who was one of the leaders of the German
Bolshevist element known as the Spartacus group, and Karl Liebknecht.
Senator Overman. He is also deceased?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes ; he is also deceased.
Senator Overman. Was Berger in the same convention with Liebknecht and
Rosa Luxemburg?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes ; he was a delegate to the same bureau, and represented
the United States.
Senator Nelson. Oh, he belonged to the same group.
Senator Overman. I know he did ; but I did not know that he had attended
the convention over there with them.
Mr. Stevenson. The adoption of the majority report of the committee on
war and militarism at that convention resulted in the withdrawal from the
party of the conservative element, of the evolutionary socialists, such as
Charles Edward Russell and .John Spargo, who have since done valuable service-
to the Government in the prosecution of the war.
Senator Overman. AVhere was that convention held?
Mr. Stevenson. At St. Louis.
Senator Overman. When?
Mr. Stevenson. April 7 to 14, 1917.
Senator Overman. Messrs. Russell and Spargo quit when they adopted those
resolutions?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Senator Overman. And did valuable service for the Government?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
At this convention the following resolution was adopted :
" Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the socialist party being the political
arm of the working class in its fight for industrial freedom, and its power rest-
ing mainly in its clear-cut, specific declaration of political and economic prin-
ciples, rather than in the number of votes passed for party candidates, and the-
purpose of the socialist movement being the emancipation of the working class
from economic servitude, rather than the election to office of candidates, it is,,
therefore, declared to be the sense of this convention that all state organiza-
tions facing the solution of this question be urged to remember that to fuse-
or to compromise is to be swallowed up and utterly destroyed; that they be
urged to maintain the revolutionary position of the socialist party and main,-
tain in the utmost possible vigor the propaganda of socialism, unadulterated by
BOaSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. IIT
association of office seekers, to tlie end that the solidarity of the working class,
the principles of international socialism may continue to lav the foundations
for the social revolution.
" The social revolution, not political office, is the end and aim of the socialist
party. No compromLse, no political tradins."
* * * * * * *
(From testimony taken on Thursday, January 23, 1919, pages 2751, 2752, 2753-2772.
and 2776-2779:]
Maj. Humes. Mr. Stevenson, will you now resume, please, where you left off
last night?
Mr. Stevenson. If I remember correctly, I was just giving an illustration of
the socialist expressions from the Radical Review of Tuly, 1918.
Senator Overman. Where is that magazine published?
Mr. Stevenson. It is published in New York, Senator, by the Radical Review
Publishing Association, 202 East Seventeenth Street, New York City.
Senator Overman. Has it a large circulation?
Mr. Stevenson. I do not know what the circulation of it is. It is gotten up
in very good style and has no advertisements. It is circulated at all of the
radical meetings. At any of the meetings you attend you will pick up a copy
of this magazine. ■
Senator Overman. Do you know who is financing all of these associations of
the Bolsheviki, the Socialists, and so on?
Mr. Stevenson. I was coming to that with regard to the Bolsheviki, Senator.
Senator Overman. All right ; do not let me anticipate, then. Just go ahead.
Mr. Stevenson (reading) :
" True to the dictate of necessity, it flies the red flag of international social-
ism "—
This is referring to the Socialist Party — ■
" proclaiming the identity of the workers' interests the world over, recognizing
only one enemy, the International bourgeoisie, and substituting the national
particularism of an obsolete competitive capitalism with the international soli-
darity of socialism."
Senator Overman. It seems that they have a common flag, and that is the red
flag. That is the I. W. W. and the socialists ; have they aU a common flag?
Mr. Stevenson. They have.
Senator Overman. And that is the red flag?
Mr. Stevenson. That is the red flag.
Senator Overman. Each one of these organizations carries the red flag?
Mr. Stevenson. All of them.
And here is the epitome of the whole thing :
" The red flag of the Industrial Republic is expressive of all the slumbering
and vital forces in society making for progress and true civilization ; it is a
banner proclaiming and symbolizing the noble Ideal of social fraternity and
industrial equality. The ultimate triumph of the proletarian armies fighting
under the re(} flag, therefore, marks the dawn of the universal brotherhood and
of the cooperative commonwealth."
^ ^ il; * * Hi *
Mr Stevenson. The Anarchist element in this country has always been a
small one, but a very active and violent group.
Thev came into prominence again with the declaration of war by the United
States" and participated in the pacifist movement.
They organized the No Conscription League, with headquarters at 20 East
One hundred and tweuty-flftl) Street, Nev,- York City, and from that league
thev issued the most violent propaganda opposed to conscription. I should like
to submit one or two of their leaflets in the record.
A large number of anonymous leaflets were distributed, which were signed
"Anarchist," and by the underground pass. Among the assistints of Emma
Goldman and Berkman were M. Elinore Fitzgerald, Carl Newlander, Walter
Merchant, and W. P. Bales.
I might say that the official publication of the Anarchist was Mother Earth.
Senator Overman. Where was that published?
Mr Stevenson. In New York City.
Senator Nelson. What is the title of that— Mother Earth?
85723—19 2
18 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Ste\'enson. Mother Earth.
Senator Ovkkman. Who is the editor of that magazine?
Mr. Stevenson'. Emma Goldman. It is still being published, although it is
not coming out now in regular issues. She is conflned in prison for the viola-
tion of the espionage act, I believe.
Senator Overman. Was she tried under the espionage act after she was tried
under the conspiracy act?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes, sir.
The anarchists have organized a school, known as the Ferrer Modern School,
with headquarters at Stelton, N. J., but they have branches in most of the
cities of the United States.
In connection with this school, I must call attention to the organization of a
school for children now being conducted. The head of this movement is Mr.
Leonard D. Abbott.
On the trial of Emma Goldman and Berkman, Mr. Abbott was called to
testify as to the character of Emma Goldman and Berkman, and in the course
of the examination he was asked :
" Q. Does the Ferrer School teach children to disobey the laws of the
country?"
To which he replied:
"It teaches them to criticize all laws, and to prepare themselves for a free
society.
" Q. When you speak of criticizing laws, do you include the laws of this gov-
ernment?
"A. Yes."
Senator Overman. \A'hat is the extent of th<jse schools?
Mr. Stevenson. They are carrying on these schools in a great many centers.
Senator Oveeman. Are they night schools?
Mr. Ste\tsnson. No: I hat particular school Is a colony, to which these
children go.
Senator Overman. I understand they have other schools?
Mr. Stevenson. They have courses of lectures.
One New York branch of the Ferrer School has its headquarters at Pythian
Hall, 1914 Madison Avenue, New Y'ork City.
Senator Nelson. I suppose they have night schools for adults?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes ; the school is a regular school for teaching anarchy to
children as well as adults.
Senator Nelson. I mean, they have night schools for adults in that line?
Mr. Stevenson. I am not sure whether the Ferrer School has. I am sorry
to say that I can not enlighten you on that point, but they give a series of
lectures.
It might be of interest to give you a few of the titles :
On November 17, 1918, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn lectures on " Economic recon-
.struction." She is an I. W. W., as well as a sympathizer of the "Anarchist."
On Sunday, November 24, " The spirit of the mob, a factor in revolution,"
by J. Edward Morgan.
December 1, " The anarchist's relation to the law," by Lola Ridge ; and
similar lectures are carried on in New York.
Senator Overiian. Are any of these people educated people?
Mr. Stevenson. One of the lecturers here is Hutchins Hapgood, who is a
brother of Norman Hapgood.
Senator Nelson. He is <ine of their lecturers?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
The interesting feature of the anarchist movement is that it was originally
associated with Karl Marx in the First International; that was the Interna-
tional Working Men's Association, which was the first attempt to gather the
radicals of all countries into one party which would direct the movement in
foreign nations and which would attempt to bring about the results sought.
The anarchists were admitted to that movement. As time went on, however,
the socialists rather got away from the radical thought of the German official
socialism, and finally the anarchists were expelled, in 1872.
An interesting feature of the International, however, at the present time,
is that when the war broke out in 1914 the International AVorking Men's
Association broke up, because a number of the socialist groups in their respec-
tive countries supported their governments, notably the German socialists ;
and. for a time, it appeared that the socialist movement had received its death
blow. But the length of the war, the extraordinary sacrifices of the peoples, and
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 19
the economic burdens that have been imposed, have revived socialist luovements,
and consequently we find the Bolshevik! of Russia setting for tlieniselves the
task of reconstructing the International.
The Bolsheviki are simply the modern manifestation of official German
socialism, to which has been added some of the principles and tactics of
syndicalism.
Senator Ovebman. And they carry the red flag?
Mr. Stevenson, And they carry the red flag.
The interest of Russia to the United States is the fact that they have deter-
mined to revive the International, and that means that they are sending their
missionaries into all parts of the w^orld.
It vcas through their influence that the German Spartacus group, headed by
Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, got their start.
Their activities in Argentine have been prominent in the daily papers.
It is particularly Interesting to note, also, that a very large area in Mexico
is now in control of the Bolsheviki — a matter which, I think, has not been gen-
erally known — and that the propaganda of the Industrial Union of North and
South America, which it is called, is being circulated in New York City and in
other cities of the United States, printed in Russian for the benefit of the Rus-
sian immigrants and Russian Jewish immigrants to this country.
I have a translation of this. It is written by John Sennzott. It sounds rather
German to me, but I do not know anything about him.
Senator Overman. Yes ; it sounds German rather than Russian.
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Maj. Humes. What parts of Mexico do you refer to, Mr. Stevenson?
Mr. Stevenson. Yucatan and the adjoining States.
Just to illustrate what they are telling these people in this country, I quote :
"When a man wants a house, he goes to the Building Committee. Possibly
he is told there is an empty house at such and such a place. If he does not
like it, he is registered, and when his turn comes, he is built a house according
to his wishes."
In other words, they do not use any money, and everything is done on a co-
operative basis.
Senator Nelson. By the government?
Mr. Stevenson. By the Soviet government.
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Stevenson. The interesting feature of the Bolsheviki movement is that
every one of these currents that we have spoken of is now cooperating with the
Bolsheviki emissaries. We have several avowed agents of the Bolsheviki gov-
ernment here — avowed propagandists.
Senator Nelson. In this country; operating here?
Mr. Stevenson. In this country ; operating to-day.
Senator Nelson. Can you give us the names of them?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes. Two of them are American citizens. One is John Reed,
a graduate of Harvard University.
Senator Nelson. You don't say?
Mr. Stevenson. And, by the way, he is a descendant of Patrick Henry. He is
now under indictment, but has not yet been tried, for violation of the espion-
age act.
I will read from some of his speeches to give you an illustration of the type
of propaganda which he Is spreading.
Senator Overman. Are these people financed by the Russian Bolsheviki?
Mr. Stevenson. I might say that we have found money coming into this coun-
try from Russia. Money has come into this country to the head of the Finnish
branch of Bolsheviki movement in this country, Sanitori Nourotava ; and there
is reason to believe that money has come in from other sources. Some of these
matters are now being investigated, and it would not be wise to make the names
of the people or the matter public.
Senator Overman. You said there were two Americans; one is Reed, who is
the other?
Mr. Stevenson. One is Reed and the other is Albert Rhys Williams.
Senator Overman. Where is he from?
Mr. Stevenson. He is from New York, I think. I do not know where he came
from; he is an American citizen, I know. He was a newspaper man. I be-
lieve he was a correspondent in Russia before we entered the war. I offer, as
an illustration, a book or pamphlet published by The Rand School of Social
20 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Science, by Albert Rhys Williams, entitled "The Bolsheviks and the Soviets."
That is an exposition of the spendid conditions in Russia under the Soviet form
of government.
The Russian Bolsheviki have flooded America with propaganda literature, of
which an example is "A letter to American working men from the Socialist
Soviet Republic of Russia, by Nikolai Lenin," published by The Socialist Publi-
cation Society, 431 Pulaski Street, Brooklyn, N. Y., in December, 1918. It is
an appeal to the American working men to straighten up and throw off the
incubus of cnpital and to join the ranks of the Soviet government. The Rand
School of Social Science has published — and these are in English — articles by
Nikolai Lenin, entitled " The Soviets at Work." They are very extremely inter-
esting documents and very appealing.
A large number of documents are printed in Russian, Yiddish, Finnish, and
the various other languages which are spoken by large groups of our foreign im-
migrants in this country ; and besides all this, we find that the Socialist papers,
almost without exception, encourage and support this movement.
Senator Ovebman. Would it be difficult for us to get a list of all such papers
and pamphlets published, and have it put in the record?
Mr. Stevenson. It would be quite a difficult task. In the first place, the
means of the Government for collecting these papers, books, pamphlets, etc.,
are rather limited at the present time. They are scattered all over the United
States.
Senator O^-eeiian. Is any of this propaganda going through the South?
Mr. Stevenson. Why, not so much ; at least, not so much has come to our
nttention. I might call attention to the New England Leader, published in
Boston and Fitchburg, Mass., for November 23, 1918, which has an interesting
article on the first page, entitled " Capitalism fast tottering to fall — Smug capi-
talists of this Nation will lose their crowns as soon as the spirit of the prole-
tariat of Germany is contracted by the American workers." and the heading is
" The people's hour has arrived."
Senator Overman. Where Is that from?
Mr. Stevenson. That is from Boston and Fitchburg, Mass. I am sorry that I
can not call your attention to all the interesting articles in these various papers.
Senator Nelson. Have you got any Finnish paper there?
Mr. STE^'ENSON. I have. Here is a Finnish paper [exhibiting].
Senator Nelson. Where is it published?
Mr. Stevenson. Published in Astoria, Oreg. It is a very prosperous-looking
paper, published in three sections, and the name is Toverl. It has in English
in the upper right-hand corner " The circulation of the Toverl is greater than
the combined circulation of all other newspapers printed in Astoria." It is a
very substantial sheet.
Senator Overman. Is it printed in English?
Mr. Stevenson. No ; that is Finnish. I submit now copies of various
Socialistic newspapers from various parts of the country. You might be inter-
ested to look some of those over. Now, here is a paper in English, entitled
International Weekly, with a subheading " Organ of the social revolution."
That is published in Seattle, Wash. Another one is entitled " Seattle Daily
Call. To carry truth to the people."
Senator Overman. Is that in English?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes; that is in English. I am only bringing these to your
attention as scattered illustrations of the type of publications printed.
Senator Nelson. Can you give us any information about the activities of
these extreme radicals in this country ; where they have operated, and what
they have done, or \indertaken to do?
Mr. Steatinson. Up to the present time, so far as actual proof is concerned,
their activities are largely propaganda, the holding of large numbers of meet-
ings, and the distribution of radical literature.
Senator Overman. Pamphlets and newspapers?
Mr. Stevenson. Pamphlets, newspapers, books, and hand bills. For instance,
one of the methods was to print a leaflet calculated to disturb the mind of
the reader, which was put into the mail boxes of a very large number of
tenement houses — stuffed in the various mail boxes — entitled " Why you should
be a socialist," by Theresa S. Malkiel, who, by the way, was a member of
several of the pacifist societies that we spoke of yesterday.
Immediately after the signing of the armistice there was a tremendous out-
cropping of this propaganda. The number of meetings doubled, and one of
the first meetings of interest was held on November 15, 1918, by the Yorkville
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 21
agitation committee (Yorkville being a part of New York City). Comrade
Patrick Quinlan, wlio is known for liis connection with tlie I. W. W., and wlio
has served a sentence for his activities with the I. W. Vf. in Paterson, N. J.,
made a speech tliat night, in which he said :
" Do not allow the capitalists to keep the Army in Europe for the purpose
of shooting down your fellow laboring men in Germany and Russia. Do not
trust Lloyd George any more than you trust the Professor. The red flag is
flying over nearly all of Europe ; it will soon fly in France, and spread across
the English Channel, an.. e\eiitually will fly over this city and the White House,
when the Republic of L.si.or i t the World is proclaimed."
At a meeting held on January 10, 1919, at the Labor Lyceum, 949 Willoughby
Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y., Mr. John Reed, who is the
Senator Overman. The Harvard graduate?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes ; the Harvard graduate, and wlio is in this country as
the consul general of the Soviet Republic, stated, among other things
Senator Overman. That is not recognized, though?
Mr. Stevenson. No ; not recognized. He says :
" My family came to this country, botli branches, in 1607 ; one of my ancestors
was Patrick Henry, who signed the Declaration of Independence; another of my
ancestors was a general under George Washington ; and another a colonel on the
northern side in the Civil War. I have a brother, a major in the Aviation
Corps, now in France, and I am a voter and a citizen of the United States; and
1 claim the right to criticise the government as much as I please. I criticise the
form of it because I claim that it is not a democratic enough government for me.
I want a more democratic government. I consider the Soviet government in
Russia a more democratic government at tlie present time than our own gov-
ernment."
He goes on in a very long speech, the tenor of which is to justify the position
and the activities of the Soviet government, and expressing the highest praise
for it. He goes on further to say :
"Now, this war, which is supposed to have been finished up now, was sup-
posed to be a conflict between two ideas — democracy and autocracy. Well, the
war is finished, comrades, and where in Hell is the democracy? Now, in New
York City free speecii is suppressed ; Socialists are not allowed to meet ; the •
red flag is banned ; periodicals are barred from the mails, and all the evidences
of Prussianism appear."
I might point out another dangerous feature of this thing.
Maj. Htjmbs. It would suggest that tlie whole speech be put into the record.
I have glanced over it myself. It has only been referred to, but I believe it
is an interesting outline of the whole plan of their activities.
Senator Overman. Let it go in.
Mr. Stevenson. The thing that I was going to mention is that a lot of edu-
cated people, particularly a number of educated and cultured women, who
have taken an interest in what is known as " liberal ideas," have, as a form
of entertainment, the inviting of John Reed and others to come and address
them on afternoons.
SeJiator Overman. That is the man who made this speech?
Mr. STE^■ENS0N. Yes.
(The speech referred to is here printed in the record, as follows:)
Comrades and friends : I am just told that there is an order from the police
that we are not to criticise at this meeting the United States Government or the
Allies. Now I was arrested and indicted some two months ago for criticizing
the intervention of the Allies in Russia. Since that time not socialist papers
but bourgeois papers, the Nation, the Dial, the Public, and the New Republic,
the Evening Post, Jane Addams, Senator Hiram .Johnson, Senator Borah, and
other members of Congress have said a damned sight worse things than I
have, and nobody dared either arrest or indict them. I am obliged to conclude
from that that" these persecutions are directed against socialism. Now it
evidently has not come to the attention of the gentleman who gave that request
from the police that according to my information the Attorney General of the
United States has ruled that criticism of the allies does not come under the
Espionage Act, for the simple reason that we have no treaties of alliance with
any European power at the present moment, and the foreign nations, we can
criticise them all we please.
Now, I am an American, and my family has been here a good deal longer
than the families of any police. My family came to this country, both branches,
in 1607. One of my ancesters was Patrick Henry, who signed the Declaration
22 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
of Independence. Another of my ancestors was a General under George Wash-
ington, and another a Colonel on the Northern side In the Civil War, now In
France, and I am a voter and a citizen of the United States, and I ilaini the
right to criticise the government as much as I please,
I criticise the form of it. I criticise the form of it because I claim that it)
is not a democratic enough government for me. I want a more democratic
government. I consider the Soviet Government of Russia a more democratic
government at the present time than our own government, and Col. William
Royce Thompson, who is a millionaire, said the same thing three months ago,
and nobody dared touch him. Now I charge agencies of our goxernment witli
keeping from the people of the United States the truth about Russia, and
Senator Hiram Johnson said the same thing the other day in Congress. We
have also agencies of our government which have not only kept the truth from
our people, but they have given out information about Russia which is not
true, and I refer here to the Sisson documents particularly, proving that Lenine
and Trotzky received German gold, and I tell the people In this hall assembled,
and the people of the United States, and the Senate of the United States, that
proof will be offered in Congress within ten days, and it is there now, that proof
will be offered that the Sisson documents are largely forgeries. I claim that
the statement of our government, which was given by Chairman Hitchcock to
the United States Senate, to the effect that our troops were welcomed by the
people at Archangel and Vladivostok is false, and the agents of our goverimient
know that it is false. We were not welcome in either Archangel or Vladivostok
and I don't mean only our own troops but all the Allies, and I say here that the
Allied troops, British, French, and Japanese, when they landed at Vladivostok
they shot In the streets hundreds of Soviet troops, blew down buildings, put the
Soviet government in jail ; that when it was over a funeral procession of the
working people, 20,000 strong, went through the streets carrying the coffins con-
taining their dead, which they laid down in front of the British Consulate,
from which machine guns had played on the people. They made speeches say-
ing they would never forget their dead, and there, surrounded by machine .guns
and artillery, they were about to leave.
There were American cruisers in the harbor. It was the 4th of July, and
the American cruisers flew the American flag. One fif the speakers said to the
people : " See ; to-day America celebrates the anniversitry of her independence.
Let us go and appeal to America so that the Americans on this, their day of
independence, will recognize that «e are struggling for freedom." And they
carried those coflins up the hill and laid them down on the sidewalk in front
of the American Consulate, and asked that we say a word for them. And five
days later the United States Marines landed and three weeks later they were
shooting down Russians without a Declaration of War.
I want to point out another thing, and charge, as Johnson has charged in the
Senate of the United States — as Senator Hiram Johnson has charged in the
Senate of the United States — and the Dial, the Nation, the Public, the New
Republic, and the Evening Post have charged the same thing, that our govern-
ment in sending troops to Russia without a declaration of war has violated the
Constitution of the United States and has committed an illegal act, and I
charge that same thing here tonight.
Now I want to point out to you what is being done in the Baltic provinces bj
the Allies, particularly by the English. The English have taken under their
protection the so-called governments of the Baltic provinces. Those govern-
ments which were set up by who? By the people of the Baltic Provinces? No.
By the officials of Kaiser Wilhelm ; and those are the governments that the
British government is taking under its protection.
I also want to call your attention to the despatches which have been coming
through and which have not been denied, that the Brlti'sh authorities have
told the Germans to resist the onward march of the Bolshevikl, the Lettish,
the Esthonian, and the Lithuanian people who are trying to win back their own
country from the tyranny of German barons who have terrorized the Baltic
provinces for centuries. There is a very Important thing for you to remember,
and that is that what the AUies are doing at the present time in the Baltld
provinces — and I don't say our own government, because our government has
nothing to do with this — but what the Germans, the English, and the French are
doing is carrying out the provisions of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which the
Germans imposed upon the Russian Baltic provinces — a treaty at which the
whole allied world, including us here in America, threw up its hands in horror,
such were the conditions imposed upon the Baltic provinces. And now the
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 23
allies, wlthont any further delay at all, are imposing these same conditions, or
trying to Impose them, iipon the Baltic provinces, and the only reason they can-
hot do so is that there is an international red army of Esthonians, Letts,
Lithuanians, and Russians, who are resisting them to the last.
Now this war, which is supposed to have been finished by now, was sup-
posed to be a conflict between two ideals, democracy and autocracy. Well, the
war is finished, comrades, and where in hell is the democracy? Now in New
York City free speech is suppressed. Socialists are not allowed to meet, the
red flag is banned, periodicals are barred from the mails, and all the evidences
of Prussianlsm appear. I want to ask yon, if ypu know anything about imperial
Oermany, If you had ever been to a meeting in Germany, a political meeting?
Absolutely the same phenomenon is here. The Chief of Police comes to tell you
you can't talk about so-and-so, and 100 cops in the hall ! Is that so?
Now the war Is ended, but a new war is begun, and this time it IS a war
between two ideas for the first time in history. Those two ideas are these :
There are two parties. On one side is private property and nationalism, and on
the other side is property for the people and internationalism. Now the system
of civilization, comrades, under which we live, is bankrupt at the present time.
It hasn't got a leg to stand on. It doesn't dare to permit democracy, because
if it did it would be voted out of existence. It rests, of course upon words
which do no mean what they say, and upon force.
Now In this connection I want to call your attention to a statement of
Nieholai Lenine's, which he spoke in the third congress of Soviets, after the
disposal of the Constituent Assembly, when the other members were accusing the
BolshevikI of using force. Lenine stood on the platform and said, " We are
accused of using force. We admit it. All government is merely organized force
in the hands of one class against another; but now, for the first time in history,
this organized force is being used by the working class against the capitalist
class."
On the night of second Congress of Soviets in Petrograd, when the Bolshevik!
insurrection broke out and the Provisional Government fell, the Bolsheviki
were In session in a great hall like this one, the Smolny Institute. Throu,<Jh
the windows came the sound of cannon fire, and as the evening wore and the
success of the Bolsheviki Insurrection became apparent, all the other political
parties in that convention began to walk out. One after another the leaders
walked out and their delegates followed the leaders. And Trotzky, who
noticed that among the Bolsheviki delegates who ware In the great majority,
there were a number of delegates who seemed uneasy and uncertain to see all
the other parties leaving, went to the front platform and said, " Let the com-
promisers go ; they are just so much garbage which will be swept Into the
rubbish-heap of history."
But what I want to tell you most of all is this, that when these compromising
parties walked out of the Congress of the Soviets and left the balance, the
Bolsheviki, greatly reduced, here and there a man would stand up. One said,
" I am for the Esthonian Social Democracy ; I demand a place on that platform."
Another said, " I am from the Lettish Social Democracy ; I demand a place on
that platform." A third said, " I am from the Lithuanian Social Democracy ; I
demand a place on that platform." And so it finally came to pass that represen-
tatives of the working class from all over Russia came and joined hands with
them, and that was the beginning of the Russian international, which was the
beginning of the third international of the world's workers.
I was In the Lettish country just after the (all of Rega. I was at the front
and saw the Lettish soldiers, who alone of all the 12th Army stood against the
Germans, and stood against the Germans until they were cut down, one regi-
ment 3000 to 18, and the reason they stood against the Germans was not because
they didn't like the Germans, but because they were revolutionists, and they
saw Immediately that the Germans were the representatives of a militant capi-
talism advancing on Russia. The i-eason I know that was why they stood
against the Germans is that when the Allies landed at Archangel and Vladivostok
the Corps of the two revolutionary armies sent against the Allies was composed
of Letts, which race had already sacrificed their lives so bravely.
On the 10th of November the Bolsheviki controlled the City of Petrograd.
Their headquarters was in Smolny Institute, and they were organizing the
defence of the. City against Kerensky's cossack army which was coming up
from the South. . They were cut ofC from communication with the rest of the
country. The reactionary central committee of the postal telegraph union,
the telephone workers, and the railroad workers had declared against them
24 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
and the Bolsheviki iu the Smolny Institute were cut ott from all communication
with the rest of Russia and the world. They didn't know how the army would
go. Of course they knew the condition of mind of the ai-my. They knew they
had the masses of Russian people with them, but didn't know how the thing was
actually working out, and couldn't get any information.
In the Duma — on the Xevsky Prospect the Duma was forming what they
called a Committee for the Salvation of Country and Revolution. It was com-
posed of the anti-Bolshevik forces and included the compromising socialist
party. This Committee for Salvation was in communication with Kerensky
and with the rest of Russia and was trying to rouse it against the Bolsheviki.
I ^yas in the Duma that afternoon. I left the Smolny about noon. There one
man was doing the work of ten, and people were falling down from fatigue,
sleeping three or four hours, getting up again and working, and everyone was
gloomy and depressed. When I got to the Duma everybody was feeling fine;
they thought the Bolsheviki would only last about three hours. We sat there
for a while and suddenly I looked out the window down the Nevsky ProsiDect,
and saw coming up a double file of soldiers on bicycles, and I said to myself,
" Here is the army, the loyal regiments coming in to crush the Bolsheviki," and
I went down. All the town had come out. The soldiers stopped and lined up
for a moment's rest in front of the Duma, and after a while people began to
ask questions, "What are you?" "Oh, we are the Lettish sharp-shooters."
"Where do you come from?" "We come from the front." "What are you
going to do here, capture the Smolny Institute and kick out the Bolsheviki?"
One Lett said, " Hell, no, we are here to support the Soviet ; you go back to the
Duma if you want to."
Mr. Stevenson. An extremely interesting bit of propaganda, and one which
has been used by all of the Bolsheviki newspapers, is a letter addressed to
President Wilson from the Rus.sian Soviet Government, and signed by the
" People's Commissary of Foreign Affairs, Tchictherin," which was delivered
through the Norwegian Embassy to President AYilson October 24, 1918.
Senator Nelson. Is it a long letter?
Mr. Stevenson. It is a very long thing, but it is a matter of great interest.
It is an extremely well-written document, and extremely insidious, and for that
reason it has been used by the Bolsheviki in this country. It was designed,
when sent, to be used as propaganda, and it is interesting that the first English
publication of it was in the Nation, which is owned and edited by Oswald
Garrison Villard. It was not given out by the Government of the United
States. I do not know whether you would like to have that go into the record
or not.
Maj. Humes. It is a matter which I think should go into the record. It gives
their view of our form of government, and outlines what they concede to be
their plan of government.
Senator Oveem.nn. Contrasting theirs with ours?
Maj. Hxtmes. Yes, sir.
Senator Ovekman. Put it in the record.
(The letter referred to is printed in the record as follows :)
To the President of the United States of North America, Mr. Woodrow Wilson.
Mr. Pkesident: In your message nf January 8th to the Congress of the United
States of North America, in the sixth point, you spoke of your profound sym-
pathy for Russia, which was then conducting, single handed, negotiations with
the mighty German imperialism. Your program, you declared demands the
evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions
affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other
nations of the world in obtaining for her unhampered and unembarrassed
opportunity for the independent determination of her political development and
national policy, and assure her a sincere welcome into the society of free
nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome,
assistance of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. And you
added that " the treatment accorded to her by her sister nations in the months
to come will be the acid test of their good-will, of their comprehension of her
needs as distinguished from their own interests, of their intelligent and un-
selfish sympathy."
The desperate struggle which we were waging at Brest-Litovsk against Ger-
man imperialism apparently only intensified your sympathy for Soviet Russia,
for you sent greetings to the Congress of the Soviets, which under the threat of
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 25
a German ofEensive ratified the Brest peace of violence — greetings and assur-
ances that Soviet Russia might count upon American help.
Six months have passed since thep, and the Russian people have had suffi-
cient time to get actual tests of your Government's and your Allies' good-will,
of their comprehension of the needs of the Russian people, of their intelligent
unselfish sympathy. This attitude of your Government and of your Allies was
shown first of all in the conspiracy which was organized on Russian territory
with the financial assistance of your French Allies and with the diplomatic
co-operation of your Government as well — the conspiracy of the Czecho-Slovaks
to whom your Government is furnishing every kind of assistance.
For some time attempts had been made to create a pretext for a war between
Russia and the United States of North America by spreading false stories to
the eifect that German war prisoners had seized the Siberian railway, but your
own officers and after them Colonel Robbins, the head of your Red Cross
Mission, had been convinced that these allegations were absolutely false. The
Czecho-Slovak conspiracj' was organized under the slogan that unless these
misled unfortunate people be protected, they would be surrendered to Germany
and Austria ; but you may find out, among other sources, from the open letter
of Captain Sadoul, of the French Military Mission, how unfounded this charge
is. Tlie Czecho-Slovaks would have left Russia in the beginning of the year,
had the French Government provided ships for them. For several months we
have waited in vain that your Allies should provide the opportunity for the
Czecho-Slovaks to leave. Evidently these Governments have very much pre-
ferred the presence of the Czecho-Slovaks in Russia — the results show for what
object — to their departure for France and their participation in the fighting
on the French frontier. Tlie best proof of the real object of the Czecho-Slovak
rebellion is tlie fact that although in control of the Siberian railway, the
Czecho-Slovaks have not taken advantage of this to le£tve Russia, but by the
order of the Entente Governments, whose directions they follow, have re-
mained in Russia to become the mainstay of the Russian counter-revolution.
Their counter-revolutionary mutiny which made impossible the transportation
of grain and petroleum on the Volga, which cut off the Russian workers and
peasants from the Siberian stores of grain and other materials and condemned
them to starvation — this was the first experience of the workers and peasants
of Russia with your Government and with your Allies after your promises of
the beginning of the year. And then came another experience : an attack on
North Russia by Allied troops, including American troops, their invasion of
Russian territory without any cause and without a declaration of war, the
occupation of Russian cities and villages, executions of Soviet officials and
other acts of violence against the peaceful population of Russia.
You have promised, Mr. President, to co-operate with Russia' in order to
obtain for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the inde-
pendent determination of her political development and her national policy.
Actually this co-operation took the form of an attempt of the Czecho-Slovak
troops and later, in Archangel, Murmansk and the Far East, of your own and
your Allies' troops, t() force the Russia:} people to submit to the rule of the
oppressing and exploiting classes, whose dominion was overthrown by the
workers and peasants of Russia in October, 1917. The revival of the Russian
counter-revolution which has already become a corpse, attempts to restore by
force its bloody domination over the Russian people — ^^such was the experience
of the Russian people, instead of co-operation for the unembarrassed expres-
sion of their will which you promised them, Mr. President, in your declara-
tions.
You have also, air. President, promised to the Russian people to assist them
in their struggle for independence. Actually this is what has occurred : while
the Russian people were fighting on the Southern front against the counter-
revolution, which has betrayed them to German imperialism and was threaten-
ing their independence, while they were using all their energy to organize the
defense of their territory against Germany at their Western frontiers, they
were forced to move their troops to the East to oppose the Czecho Slovaks who
were bringing them slavery and oppression, and to the North — against your
allies and your own troops which had invaded their territory, and against
the counter-revolutions organized by these troops.
Mr. President, the acid test of the relations between the United States and
Russia gave quite different results from those that might have been expected
from your message to the Congress. But we have reason not to be altogether
dissatisfied with even these results, since the outrages of the counter-revolution
26 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
In the East and Xortli have shown the \\orkers and peasants of Russia the
aims of the Russian counter-revolution, and of its foreign supporters, thereby
creating among the Russian people an Iron will to defend their liberty and
the conquests of the revolution to defend the land that it has given to the
peasants and the factories that it has given to the workers. The fall of Kazan,
Symbyrsk, Syzran, and Samara should make it clear to you, Mr. President,
what were the consequence for us of the actions which followed your promises
of January 8th. Our trials helped to create a strongly united and disciplined
Red Army, which is daily growing stronger and more powerful and which Is
learning to defend the revolution. The attitude toward us, which was actually
displayed by your Government and by your Allies could not destroy us ; on the
contrary, we are now strcmger than we were a few months ago, and your
present proposal of international negotiations for a general peace finds us alive
and strong and in a position to give in the name of Russia our consent to join
the negotiations. In your note to Germany you demand the evacuation of
occupied territories as a condition which must precede the armistice during
which peace negotiations shall begin, ^^■e are ready. Mr. President, to conclude
an armistice on these conditions, and we ask you to notify us when you, Mr.
President, and your Allies intend to remove troops from Murmansk, Archangel
and Siberia. You refuse to conclude an armistice, unless Germany will stop
the outrages, pillaging, etc., during the evacuation of occupied territories. We
allow ourselves therefore to draw the conclusion that you and your allies will
order the Czecho-Slovaks to return the part of our gold reserve fund which
they seized in Kazan, that you will forbid them to continue as heretofore their
acts of pillaging and outrage against the workers and peasants during their
forced departure (for we will encourage their speedy departure, without waiting
for your order).
Witli regard to other peace terms, namely, that the Governments which
would conclude peace must express the will of their people, you are aware that
our Government fully satisfies this condition, our Government expresses the
will of the Councils of Workmen's, Peasants' and Red Army Deputies, represent-
ing at least eighty per cent of the Russian people. This cannot, Mr. President,
be said about your Government. But for the sake of humanity and peace we
do not demand as a prerequisite of geiieral peace negotiations that all nations
participating In the negotiations shall be represented by Councils of People's
Commissaries elected at a Congress of Councils of Workmen's, Peasants' and
Soldiers' Deputies. We know that this form of Government will soon be the
general form, and that precisely a general peace, when nations will no more
be threatened with defeat, will leave them free to put an end to the system
and the clique that forced upon mankind this universal slaughter, and which
will, in spite of themselves, surely lead the tortured peoples to create Soviet
Governments, which give exact expression to their will.
Agreeing to participate at present in negotiations with even sucli Govern-
ments as do not yet express the will of the people, we W(5uld like on our part
to find out from you, Mr. President, in detail what is your conception of the
League of Nations, which you propose as the crowning work of peace. You de-
mand the independence of Poland, Serbia, P)elglum and freedom for the peoples
of Austria-Hungary. You probably mean by this that the masses of the people
must everywhere first become the masters of their own fate in order to unite
afterwards in a league of free nations. But strangely enough, we do not find
among your demands the liberation of Ireland, Egypt, or India, nor even the
liberation of the Philippines, and we would be very sorry to learn that these
people should be denied the opportunity to participate together with us, through
their freely elected representatives, in the organization of the League of Nations.
We would also, Mr. President, very much like to know, before the negotia-
tions with regard to the formation of a League of Nations have begun, what
is your conception of the solution of many economic questions which are essen-
tial for the cause of future peace. You do not mention the war expenditures —
this unbearable Imrden, wliich the masses would have to carry, unless the league
of nations should renounce payments on the loans to the capitalists of all coun-
tries. You know as well as we, Mr. President, that this war is the outcome of
the policies of all capitalistic nations, that the governments of all countries
were continually piling up armaments, that the ruling groups of all civilized
nations pursued a policy of annexations, and that it would, therefore, be ex-
tremely unjust if the masses, having paid for these policies with millions of
lives and with economic ruin, should vet pay to those who are really responsible
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 27
for tbe war a tribute for their policies ^vliicli resulted in all these couutles8
miseries.
We propose therefore, Mr. President, the annulment of the war loans as the
basis of the League of Nations. As to the restoration of the countries that
were laid waste by the war, we believe it is only just that all nations, should
aid for this purpose, the unfortunate Belgium, Poland, and Servia, and however
poor and ruined Russia seems to be, she is ready on her part to do evei-ything
she can to help these victims of the war, and she expects that American capital,
which has not at all suffered from this war and has even made many billions in
profits out of it, will do its part to help tliese peoples.
But the League of Nations should not only liquidate the present war, but also
make impossible any wars in the future. You must be aware, Mr. President,
that the capitalists of your country are planning to apply in the future the same
policies of encroachment and of super profits in China and in Siberia, and that,
fearing competition from Japanese capitalists, they are preparing a military
force to overcome the resistance which they may meet from Japan. You are no
doubt aware of similar plans of the capitalists ruling circles of other countries
with regard to other territories and other peoples. Knowing this, you will
have to agree with us that the factories, mines and banks must not be left in
the hands of private persons, who have always made use of the vast means of
production created by the masses pt the people to export products and capital to
foreign countries in order to reap super profits in return for the benefits forced
on them, their struggle for spoils resulting in imperialistic wars. We propose,
therefore, Mr. President, that the League of Nations be based on the expro-
priation of the capitalists of all countries. In your country, Mr. President,
the banks and the Industries are In the hands of such a small group of capi-
talists that, as your personal friend. Colonel Ilobbins, assured us, the arrest of
twenty heads of capitalistic cliques and the transfer of the control, which by
characteristic capitalistic methods they have come to possess, into the hands of
the masses of the people is all that would be required to destroy the principal
source of new wars.
If you will agree to this, Mr. President — if the source of future wars will
thus be destroyed, then there can be no doubt that it would be easy to remove
all economic barriers and that all peoples, controlling their means of produc-
tion, will be vitally Interested in exchanging the things they do not need for
the things they need. It will then be a question of an exchange of products
between nations, each of which produces what It can best produce, and the
League of Nations will be a league- of mutual aid of the toiling masses. It
will then be easy to reduce the armed forces to the limit necessary for the
maintenance of Internal safety.
We know very well that the selfish capitalist class will attempt to create
this internal menace, just as the Russian landlords and capitalists are now
attempting with the aid of American, English, and French armed forces to take
the factories from the workers and the land from the peasants. But, if the
American workers. Inspired by your Idea of a League of Nations, will crush
the I'esistance of the American capitalists as we have crushed the resistance
of the Russian capitalists, then neither the German nor any other capitalists
will be a serious menace to the victorious working class, and it will then suf-
fice, if every member of the commonwealth, working six hours in the factory,
spends two hoiirs daily for several months in learning the use of arms, so that
the whole people will know how to overcome the internal menace.
And so, Mr. President, though we have had experience with your promises,
we nevertheless, accept as a basis your proposals about peace and about a
League of Nations. We have tried to develop them in order to avoid results
which would contradict your promises, as was the case with your promise of
assistance to Russia. We have tried to formulate with precision your pro-
posals on the League of Nations in order that the League of Nations should
not turn out to be a league of capitalists against the nations. Should you not
agree with us, we have no objection to an " open discussion of your peac-e
terms," as your first point of your peace program demands. If you will accept
our proposals as a basis, we will easily agree on the details.
But there is another possibility. We have had dealings with the President
of the Archangel attack and the Siberian invasion and we have also had deal-
ings with the President of the League of Nations Peace Program. Is not the
first of these — the real President actually directing the policies of the American
capitalist government? Is not the American Government rather a Government
28 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
of the American corporations, of the American industrial, commercial and rail'
road trusts, of the American banks — in short, a (Jovernment of the American
capitalists? And Is it not possible that the proposals of this Government about
the creation of a League of Nations will result in new clialns for the peoples.
In the organization of an International trust for the exploitation of the workers
and the suppression of weak nations? In this latter case, Mr. President, you
will not be in a iwsition to reply to our questions, and we will say to the
workers of all countries : Beware ! Millions of your brothers, thrown at each
others throats by the bourgeoisie of all countries are still perishing on the
battlefields and the capitalists leaders are already trying to come to an under-
standing for the purpose of suppressing with united forces those that remain
alive, when they call to account the criminals who caused the war !
However, Mr. President, since we do not at all desire to wage war against the
United States, even though your Government has not yet been replaced by a
Council of People's Commissaries and your post is not yet taken by Eugene
Debs, whom you have imprisoned ; since we do not at all desire to wage war
against England, even though the cabinet of Mr. Lloyd-George has not yet
been replaced by a Council of People's Commissaries with MacLean at its
head ; since we have no desire to wage war against B>ance, even tliough the
capitalist Government of Gleraenceau has not yet been replaced by a workmen's
Government of Merheim, just as we have concluded peace with the imperialist
government of Germany, with Emperor AYilhelm at its head, whom you, Mr.
President, hold in no greater esteem than we, the ^\'ln•kmen's and Peasant's
Revolutionary Government hold you, we finally propose to you, Mr. President,
that you take up with your Allies the following questions and give us- precise
and business-like rejilies: Do the governments of the United States, England
and France intend to cease demanding the blood of tlie Russian people and
lives of Russian citizens, if the Russian people will agree to pay them a ransom,
such as a man who has been suddenly attacked pays to the one who attacked
him? If so, just what tribute do the governments of the United States, Eng-
land and France demand of the Russian people? Do they demand concessions,
that the railways, mines, gold deposits, etc., shall be handed over to them on
certain conditions, or do they demand territorial concessions, stome part of
Siberia or Caucasia, or ])eriiaps the Murmansk coast?
We expect from you, Mr. President, that you will definitely state what you
and your Allies demand, and also whether the allowance between your govern-
ment and the governments of the other entente powers is in the nature of
a combination which could be compared with a corporation for drawing divi-
dends from Russia, or does your government and the other governments of the
entante powers have each separate and special demands, and what are they?
Particularly are we interested to know the demands of your French Allies
with regard to the three billions of rubles which the Paris banlrers loaned to
the Government of the Czar — the oppressor of Russia and the enemy of his
own people? And you, Mr. President, as well as your French Allies surely
know that even if you and your allies should succeed in enslaving and covering
with blood the whole territory of Russia — which will not be allowed by our
heroic revolutionary Red Army — that even in that case the Russian people,
worn out by the war and not having sufficient time to take advantage of the
beneljts of the Soviet rule to elevate their national economy, will be unable to
pay to the French bankers the full tribute for the billions that were used by
the Government of the Czar for puiiaoses Injurious to the people. Do your
French allies demand that a part of this tribute be paid in installments, and
if so. what part, and do they anticipate that their claims will result In similar
claims by other creditors of the infamous Government of the Czar which has
been overthrown by the Russian people? We can hardly think that your Gov-
eernment and your allies are without a ready answer, when your and their
troops are trying to advance on our territory with the evident object of seizing
and enslaving our country.
The Rus.slan people through the People's Red Army, are guarding their
territory and are bravely fighting against your Invasion and against the attack
of your Allies. But your Government and the Governments of the other powers
of the Entente undoubtedly have well prepared plans, for the sake of which you
are shedding the blood of your soldiers. We expect that you will state your
demands very clearly and definitely. Should we, however, be disappointed,
should you fall to reply to our quite definite and precise questions, we wIU
draw the only possible conclusion — that we ari' justified in the assumption
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 29
that your Government and the Governments of your Allies desire to get from
the Russian people a tribute both in money and in natural resources of Russia,
and territorial concessions as well. We vdll tell this to the Russian people as
well as to the tolling masses of other countries, and the absence of a reply
from you will serve for us as a silent reply. The Russian people will then
understand that the demands of your Government and of the Governments
of your Allies are so severe and vast that you do not even want to communi-
cate them to the Russian Government.
People's Commissary of Foreign Affairs,
tchitchebin.
Mr. Stevenson. The principal publications of the Bolshevikl in New York
City are the Novy Mir
Senator Nelson. In what language is that?
Mr. STEVENSON'. Russian. The Workman and Peasant.
Senator Overman. What does "Novy Mir" mean?
Mr. Stevenson. The New Era or New Life. These are the accredited official
organs in this country of the Bolsheviki government.
The Bolsheviki have organized in this country Soviets. Each industrial cen-
ter in the United States now has its soviet.
Senator Nelson. Is that so?
Mr. Stevenson. And, of course, the plan of the propagandists is to extend
their influence until they can take on the functions of government.
Senator Nelson. What is their system of organization in each case?
Mr. Stex^enson. It is merely the election of delegates to a central committee.
That is what the soviet is.
Senator Nelson. Have they not local organizations? Have they not a local
government?
Mr. Stevenson. The central committee is the governing committee; it acts
as the government.
Senator Nelson. Consisting of delegates from these various points?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Senator O^-ekman. The idea, then, is to form a government within this Gtov-
ernment?
Mr. Stevenson. Precisely.
Senator Overman. And to overthrow this Government?
Mr. Stevenson. Precisely. I think that the record should contain a copy
of the constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic.
Senator Overman. Will you give us the names of some of the heads of this
soviet government?
Mr. Stevenson. In this country?
Senator Overman. Yes.
Mr. Stevenson. Those are largely foreign^-s. They are largely Russians
over here now.
Senator Nelson. That constitution ought to go in, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Overman. Let me see that.
Mr. Stevenson (handing paper to the chairman). You will find some extraor-
dinarily interesting matter there. The disfranchisement of all persons who
employ anybody or pay anyone any wages ; anyone who does that can not vote
in the Soviet government. You will find some very interesting political ideas
there.
Senator Nelson. I think that would be a good thing to go into the record.
Senator Overman. Yes; this will go in.
(The constitution referred to is printed in the record, as follows:)
[Outside of front cover.]
constitution of the RUSSIAN SOCIALIST FEDERATED SOVIET REPUBLIC.
Since intelligent judgment on the complex problems of Russia requires some
knowledge of the purpose and methods of the Soviet Government (which is one
of those rare things — a new event in history), we believe that our readers will
be glad to have this opportunity to study critically an English translation
(taken from a recent issue of the New York Tribune) of the constitution of
the Soviets. It has been generally reco^ized in America that so much progress
has been made in Russia in working out this new conception of the state and
30 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
its government. Even if the present Soviet Government should fall, or should
learn by experience to modify some of its methods, the ideas embodied In this
document are from henceforth a mighty force to be reckoned with in the world;
and the document itself may well come to rank with the great declarations of
history. 1918.
[Inside of front cover.]'
Read the following books:
The Soviets at Work, by Nicolai Lenin.
Political Parties in Russia, Nicolai Lenin.
Our Revolution, Leon Trotzky.
On Behalf of Russia, Arthur Ransom.
The Soul of the Russian Revolution, by M. Olgin.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN SOCIALIST FEDERATED
SOVIET REPUBLIC
The Soviet Constitution and Declabation or Rights and Duties.
I.
DECLARATION OF EIGHTS AND DUTIES OF LAB0EIN6 HUMANITY.
[Approved by the Commission of the Central Committee for Drafting the Constitution of
the Soviets.]
We, the laboring people of Russia, workmen, peasants, cossacks, soldiers and
sailors, united in the councils of the Workmen's, Soldiers', Peasants' and Cos-
sacks' delegates, declare in the persons of our plenipotentiary representatives,
who have assembled at the Pan-Russian Congress of Soviets, the following rights
and duties of the working and despoiled people:
The economic subjection of the laboring classes by the possessors of the
means and instruments of production, of the soil, machines, factories, railways,
and raw materials — those basic sources of life — appears as the cause of all sorts
of political oppression, economic spoliation, intellectual and moral enslavement
of the laboring masses.
The economic liberation of the working classes from the yoke of capitalism
represents, therefore, the greatest task of our time, and must be accomplished
at all costs.
The liberation of the working classes must and can be the work of those
classes themselves, who must unite for that purpose in the Soviets of the Work-
men's, Soldiers', Peasants', and Cossacks' delegates.
In order to put an end to every ill that oppresses humanity and in order to
secure to labor all the rights belonging to it, we recognize that it is necessary
to destroy the existing social structure, which rests upon private property in
the soil and the means of production, in the spoliation and oppression of the
laboring masses, and to substitute for it a Socialist structure. Then the whole
earth, its surface and its depth, and all the means and instruments of produc-
tion, created by the toll of the laboring classes, will belong by right of common
property to the whole people, who are united in a fraternal association of
laborers.
Only by giving society a Socialist structure can the division of it into hostile
classes be destroyed, only so can we put an end to the spoliation and oppression
of men by men, of class by class ; and all men — ^placed upon an equality as to
rights and duties — will contribute to the welfare of society according to their
strength and capacities, and will receive from society according to their require-
ments.
The complete liberation of the laboring classes from spoliation and oppres-
sion appears as a problem, not locally or nationally limited, but as a world
^NoTE BY Majoe Humes at time of submitting this excerpt for inclusion in
RECORD OF " Bolshevik Propaganda." — " The above form of constitution is apparently a
preliminary draft of that instrument. The final draft was adopted on July 10, 1918,
and appears in the present volume immediately preceding the Appendix at the end.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 31
problem and it can be carried out to Its end only through the united exertions
of workingmen of all lands. Therefore, the sacred duty rests upon the working
class of every country to come to the assistance of the workingmen of other
countries who have risen against the capitalistic structure of society.
A Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
The working class of Russia, true to the legacy of the Internationale, over-
threw their bourgeoisie in October, 1917, and, with the help of the poorest
peasantry, seized the powers of government. In establishing a dictatorship of
the proletariat and the poorest peasantry, the working class resolved to wrest
capital from the hands of the bourgeoisie, to unite all the means of produc-
tion in the hands of the Socialist state and thus to increase as rapidly as
possible the mass of productive forces.
The first steps in that direction were:
Abolition of property in land, declaration of the entire soil to be national
property, and the distribution of it to the workmen without purchase money,
upon the principle of equality in utilizing it.
Declaration as national property of all forests, treasures of the earth and
waters of general public utility, and all the belongings, whether animals or
things, of the model farms and agricultural undertakings.
Introduction of a law for the control of workmen and for the nationalization
of a number of branches of industry. ,
Nationalization of the banks, which heretofore were one of the mightiest in-
struments for the spoliation of society by capital.
Repudiation of the loans which were contracted by the czar's government
upon the account of the Russian people.
Arming of the laborers and peasants and disarming of the propertied classes.
Besides all this, the introduction of a universal obligation to work, for the
purpose of eliminating the parasitic strata of society, is planned.
As soon as production shall have been consolidated in the hands of the work-
ing masses, united in a gigantic association, in which the development of every
single Individual will appear as the condition for the development of all
men ; as soon as the old bourgeois state with its classes and class hatred, is
definitely superseded by a firmly established Socialist society which rests upon
universal labor, upon the application and distribution of all productive forcea
according to plan, and upon the solidarity of all its members, then, along with
the disappearance of class differences, will disappear also the necessity for the
dictatorship of the working classes and for state power as the instrument of
class domination.
These are the immediate internal problems of the Soviet republic.
Tlw Tnternntional Policies of the fioviet Republic.
In its relation to other nations the Soviet republic stands upon the principles
of the first Internationale, which recognized truth, justice and morality as the
foundation of its relations to all humanity, independent of race, religion, or
nationality.
The Socialist Soviet republic recognizes that wherever one member of the
fiimily of humanity is oppressed all humanity is oppressed, and for that reason
it proclaims and defends to the utmost the right of all nations to self-
determination and thereby to the free choice of their destiny.
It accords that right to all nations without exception, even to the hundreds
of millions of laborers in Asia, Africa, in all colonies and the small countries
who, down to the present day, have been oppressed and despoiled without pity
by the ruling classes, by the so-called civilized nations.
The Soviet republic has transformed into deeds the principles proclaimed
before its existence. The right of Poland to self-determination having been
recognized in the first days of the March revolution, after the overturn in
October the Soviet republic proclaimed the full independence, of Finland and
the right of the Ukraine, of Armenia, of all the people populating the territory
of the former Russian empire, to their full self-determination.
In its efforts to create a league — free and voluntary, and for that reason all
the more complete and secure — of the working classes of all the peoples of
Russia, the Soviet republic declared Itself a federal republic and offered to the
laborers and peasants of every nation the opportunity to enter as members with
32 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
equal rights into tlie fraternal family of the Republic of Soviets (through action
taken) independently in the plenipotentiary sessions of their Soviets, to any
extent and in whatever form they might wish.
The Soviet RcpuWc's Basis of Peace.
The Soviet republic has declared war upon war, not only in words, but also
in deeds ; and in doing so it formally, and in the name of the working masses
of Russia, announced its complete renunciation of all efforts at conquest and
annexation, as well as all thought of oppressing small nations. At the same
time, the Soviet republic, to prove the sincerity of the purposes, broke openly
with the policy of secret diplomacy and secret treaties, and it proposed to all
belligerent nations to conclude a general democratic peace without annexations
or indemnities, upon the basis of the free self-determination of peoples. That
standpoint is still firmly adhered to be the Soviet republic.
Compelled by the policy of violence practised by the imperialisms of all the
world, the Soviet republic is marshalling its forces for resistance against the
growing demands of the robber packs of international capital, and it looks to
the inevitable rebellion of the working classes for the solution of the question
of how the nations can live peacefully together. The international Socialist
rebellion alone, in which the laboring people of each state overthrow their own
imperialists, puts an end to war once for all, and creates the conditions for the
full realization of the solidarity of the working people of the entire world.
The Rights and Duties of the Workers.
Taking its stand upon the principles of the Internationale, the Soviet republic
recognizes that there can be no rights without duties, and no duties without
rights, and, therefore, proclaims at the same time, with the rights of the working
classes in a rejuvenated society, the following outline of their duties :
To fight everywhere and without sparing their strength for the complete
power of the working classes, and to stamp out all attempts to restore the
dominion of the despoilers and oppressors.
To assist with all their strength in overcoming the depression caused by the
war and the opposition of the bourgeoisie, and to cooperate in bringing about
as speedy a recovery as possible of production in all branches of economy.
To subordinate their personal and group interests to the Interests of all the
working people of Russia and the whole world.
To defend the republic of the Soviets, the only Socialist bulwark in the
capitalistic world, from the attacks of international imperialism without spar-
ing their own strength and even their own lives.
To keep in mind always and everywhere the sacred duty of liberating labor
from the domination of capital, and to strive for the establishment of a world-
embracing fraternal league of working people.
In proclaiming these rights and duties the Russian Socialist Republic of the
Soviets calls upon the working classes of the entire world to accomplish their
task to the very end, and in the faith that the Socialist ideal will soon be
achieved to write upon their flags the old battle cry of the working people.
Proletarians of all lands unite
I/ong live the Socialist world revolution !
II.
GENEBAL PROVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN SOCIALIST FEDERAL
EEPTJBLIC.
The fundamental problem of the constitution of the Russian Socialist Federal
republic involves, in view of the present transition period, the establishment
of a dictatorship of the urban and rural proletariat and the poorest peasantry,
the power of the pan-Russian Soviet authority, the crushing of the bourgeoisie,
the abolition of the spoliation of men by men and the introduction of Socialism
in which there will be neither a division into classes nor a state authority.
The Russian republic is the free Socialist society of all the working people
of Russia, united in the urban and rural Soviets.
The Soviets of those regions which diiferentiate themselves by a special form
of existence and national character will be united into autonomous regional
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 33
associations ruled by tlie sessioDS of the Soviets of tliose regions and their own
executive organs.
Tlie Soviet associations of the regions participate in the Russian Socialist
republic upon the basis of federation, at tlie head of whch stands the pan-
Eussian session of the Soviets and, in periods between the sessions, the pan-
Knssian central executive committee.
III.
CONCEENING THE BUSSIAN SOVIETS.
The right to vote and to be elected to the Soviets is enjoyed by the following
•citizens of the Russian Socialists Soviet republic of both sexes who shall have
completed their eighteenth year by the day of election :
All who have acquired the means of living through labor that is productive
and useful to society and are members of the trades associations, namely :
(a) Laborers and employees of classes who are employed in industry, trade
and agriculture.
(b) Peasants and Cossack agricultural laborers who hire no labor.
(c) Employees and laborers In the offices of the Soviet government.
(d) Soldiers of the army and navy of the Soviets.
(e) Citizens of the two previous categories who have to any degree lost
their capacity to work.
The following pei-pons enjoy neithei- the right to vote nor to be voted for,
even though they belong to one of the categories enumerated above, namely :
Persons who employ hired labor in order to obtain from it an increase of
profits ;
Persons who have an income without doing any work, such as interest from
■capital, receipts from property, and so on.
Private merchants, trade and commercial agents ;
Employes of communities for religious worship ;
Employes and agents of the former police, the gendarmerie corps and the
Ochrana ; also members of the dynasty that formerly ruled Russia ;
Persons who have in legal form been declared demented or mentally deficient
and also deaf and dumb persons ;
Persons who have been punished for selfish or dishonorable misdemeanors.
IV-VII.
PEINCIPLES FOB THE ADMINISTEATION OF THE RUSSIAN STATE.
The government is based upon the smallest settlements (villages and ham-
lets), the inhabitants of which may elect one representative to each 100
persons.
The rural Soviets are under the authority of the Soviets of the Wolosts (dis-
tricts), and these latter under the Soviets of the TJjesd (larger regions).
The urban and Ujesd Soviets elect delegates to .sessions of the government
•of Oblast Soviets. Each of these bodies chooses independently its own execu-
tive committee.
VIIL
CONCEENING THE PAN-EUSSIAN CONGEESS OF THE SOVIETS.
The Pan-Russian Congress of Soviets consists of representatives of the urban
Soviets (one delegate for each 25,000 voters) and representatives of the gov-
•ernment congresses (one delegate for each 125,000 voters).
The Pan-Russian Congress of Soviets will be called together by the Pan-
Russian central executive committee at least twice a year.
The extraordinary Pan-Russian Congress will be called together by the Pan-
Russian central executive committee upon its own initiative or upon the demand
of the Soviets of districts embracing at least one-third of the entire population
•of the republic.
The Pan-Russian Congress of Soviets elects the central executive committee
of not more than 200 members.
The Pan-Russian executive committee Is responsible to the Pan-Russian
Congress of Soviets.
85723—19 3
34 BOLSHEVIK Ji-KUl-AUAJNUA.
The Pan-Russian Congress of Soviets is the highest power in the republic.
In the period between its sessions that power is represented by the Pan-Russian
central executive committee.
Eleven Administrative Departments.
It is further provided that the central executive committee shall be divided
Into 11 colleges for administrative functions. There are :
Foreign policies.
Defense of the country (army and nav.y).
Social order and security (militia), census of the people, registration of so-
cieties and associations, fire department, insurance, organization of the Soviets.
Justice.
Public economy (with subsections for agriculture. Industry, and trade,
finances, railways, food supply, state property and construction).
Labor and social welfare.
Education and enlightenment of the people.
Public health.
Post, telegraph and telephone.
Federal and national affairs.
Control and auditing.
Mr. Stevenson. One could continue to give illustrations of the speeches made,
and illustrations of the character of the propaganda ; but I hardly think It
will be necessary to cumber the record with repetition.
Senator Nelson. So far, with the exception of a few cases, they are all
confined to foreigners, are they not?
Mr. Stevenson. Except that the Socialists approve of that form of govern-
ment in a great many instances.
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Stevenson. And express sympathy for it in their publications, and are
cooperating with the Bolsheviki. A casual glance at some of the Socialist
papers will satisfy anyone that that is the case.
Senator Nelson. There is a. community of interest?
Mr. Stevenson. Distinctly. I think that the interesting point about the
Bolsheviki, which might be brought out, is that prior to their propaganda we
had these difCerent branches of radical thought, having somewhat conflicting
principles so that they could not cooperate.
Senator Nelson. Do you mean by that that instead of having all these organ-
izations of various kind.s that we have had in this country, the Bolsheviki in
Russia have succeeded in concentrating all the lye, one might say, into one
system?
Mr. Stevenson. Precisely, and for this reason, that all of the radical people
believe that everyone should belong to the proletariat.
Senator Nelsox. Yes.
Jlr. Stevenson. The Bolsheviki say "Everything should belong to the prole-
tariat ; the proletariat should take control now, and we will work out our theory
afterwards." That makes a common platform for all of these radical groups
to stand on, because the anarchist feels that if the proletariat gets control he
can effect his theory, and the same is true of the various other groups of
radical thinkers.
Senator Nelson. Then they have really rendered a service to the various
classes of reformers and progressives that we have here in this country, have
they not?
Mr. Stevenson. Apparently.
Senator Nelson. In concentrating their doctrines into one formula?
Mr. Stevenson. They have.
* * * * * * *
Maj. Humes. You have outlined In a general way the activities of the radical
groups in this country, and from your study of the cause advocated by the
radical groups in this country that you have referred to and what they are
contending for, and your knowledge of the Soviet government In Russia and the
activities in Russia, is It or is It not a fact that the elements that you have
referred to In this country are the same elements that are now at war with and
fighting In the field against American soldiers in Russia?
Mr. Stevenson. They are the same element.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 35
Senator Nelson. They are not exactly the same crowd, but they have the
same gospel?
Mr. Stevenson. They are even the same crowd, Senator, because John Reed
is the accredited representative of that government.
Senator Nht-son. In this country?
Mr. Stevenson. In this country ; and Albert Rhys Williams admits that he
is a propagandist for that government in this country.
Senator Nelson. Is Reed the official representative here?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Has !ie knocked at the door of the State Department?
Mr. Ste\'enson. I believe that he tried to. I am not sure. I know that among
his effects, however, he had the official forms supplied by the Soviet govern-
ment for Soviet marriages and divorces, and all that sort of thing.
Maj. Humes. What are the forms and the requirements for marriages and^
divorces under the Soviet government in Russia?
Mr. Stevenson. Simply a statement before the proper commissary that they^
want to be married or that they want to be divorced.
Senator Overman. Do they have as many wives as they want?
Mr. Stevenson. In rotation.
Maj. Humes. Polygamy is recognized, is it?
Mr. Stevenson. I do not know about polygamy. I have not gone into the
study of their social order quite as fully as that.
Senator Nelson. That is, a man can marry and then get a divorce when he
gets tired, and get another wife?
Mr. Stevenson. Precisely.
Senator Nelson. And keep up the operation?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Senator Overman. Do you know whether they teach free love?
Mr. Stevenson. They do.
Ma.i. Humes. Can a divorce be secured upon the application of one party to
the marriage, or has it to be by agreement?
Mr. Stevenson. I think by one party.
Maj. Humes. By either party?
Mr. Stevenson. By either party.
Maj. Humes. They can renounce the marital bond at will?
Mr. Stevenson. Precisely.
Maj. Humes. Do you know whether or not the element that is active in this
country is advocating the same thing here in their public speeches, or their
literature?
Mr. Stevenson. In considerable of the literature some of the element has
done so. I will not say that all have.
Maj. Humes. The committee asked you yesterday to rearrange the "Who's
Who." Has that work been completed so that it can be submitted to the com-
mittee?
Mr. Stevenson. It has been practically completed, Major.
Maj. Humes. You have not fully completed it?
Mr. Stevenson. We will have it completed very shortly. It is more of a task
than I realized at first.
Maj. Humes. But it will be completed for submission for the -record later in
the day?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes.
Maj. Humes. I think that Is all I have to ask, unless the committee has
something further.
Senator Overman. You think this movement is growing constantly in this
country?
Mr. Stevenson. I think so.
Senator Overman. Rapidly or slowly?
Mr. Stevenson. I think it is growing rather rapidly, if we can gauge it by the
amount of literature that is distributed and the number of meetings held. It is
a very indefinite sort of thing. It Is extremely difficult to state how effective
these sheets are.
Senator Overman. You have not discovered that it is growing among the
American population; it is more among the foreigners, is it not?
Mr. Stevenson. Well, the Rand School of Social Science publishes all of these
works, like the Letters from Lenin, and that sort of thing, and that is made up
very largely of American citizens, such as Charles Andrew Beard, Henry Wads-
worth Dana, Algernon Lee, and Scott Nearing.
36 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
Senator Kklsox. Do you reRarrl this propaganda as a menace to our country?
Mr. Ste\'enson'. Decidedly. I conceive it to be the gravest menace to the
country to-day.
Senator Oveeman. Tour idea is that these people are conducting In tlii.s coun-
try an organization within this country for the overthrow of its Government,
carrying the red flag, and with the cry "Down with capitalists" as the prin-
cipal teaching?
Blr. Stevenson. That is true.
Senator Nelson. You have given us a good diagnosis. Now, can you give us
any remedy or suggest any remedy for It?
Mr. STE^fENsoN. It strikes me, Senator, that there are several things which
might be done.
In the first place, I think that the foreign agitators should be deported. I
think the bars should be put up to exclude seditious literature from the country.
There is practically no way now to stop this material from coming in.
I think that American citizens who advocate revolution should be punished
under a law drawn for that purpose.
Senator Overman. Then you will hear somebody in the Senate talking about
freedom of speech, will you not?
Mr. Stevenson. Yes ; but revolution is somewhat different from freedom of
speech.
I think, however, that that would not be sufficient. I think that one of the
things that must be carried on is a counter-propaganda campaign.
Senator Nelson. An educational campaign?
Mr. Stevenson. A campaign of education. I think that you must employ the
same weapons that they employ.
The thing that has impressed me more than anything else is that you see all
of these papers, all of these documents, and you hear of all of these speeches
and meetings, and you do not see a scratch of the pen that reaches these people,
hardly, to disprove the arguments which are put forth by these papers.
Senator Nelson. But do you find much in our public press, the daily press,
the weekly press, or our monthlies, that calls the attention of the American
people to these things and points out the danger of them?
Mr. Stevenson. Not until very recently. Senator. We have seen this move-
merit grow up for the last year and a half in the foreign-language press, and
now it has extended to all these other papers. It seems to me that our teachers
in the public schools should be trained to combat this thing; and still further,
I think if you go back into history you will find a very Interesting parallel in
the United States to the condition which we find here now. You will remember
that in about 1791 or 1792 or 1793, somewhere along there, we had the great
whisky rebellion in western Pennsylvania. That whisky rebellion was brought
about through the agitation of civil liberties bureaus, which were the reflex of
the Jacobean clubs in France, and In the Life of Washington by John Marshall,
he makes a very interesting observation on the fact that as soon as Eobespiere
was guillotined In France, and the Jacobean clubs lost their power. Immediately
in the United States there came the dissolution of these democratic societies.
And it seemed to be that there was a lesson for us to-day In that : That so long
as the Bolsheviki control and dominate the millions of Europe, so long that is
going to be a constant menace and encouragement to the radical and dissatisfied
elements In this country.
* * K: ^i- * ,( 4:
Thereupon the subcommittee proceeded to take testimony.
TESTIMONY OF ME. WILLIAM CHAPIN HUNTINGTON.
(The witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Maj. Humes. Doctor, where do you reside?
Mr. HtTNTiNGTON. With my parents in Elizabeth, A". J.
Maj. Humes. Are you connected with any department of the Gov-
ernment ?
Mr. Huntington. With the Department of Commerce.
Senator WoLCOTT. May I interrupt ? Doctor, what is your degree?
Mr. Huntington. Doctor of engineering.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. v3X
Maj. Humes. From what institution?
Mr. Huntington. From the Royal Technical College, Aix la
Chappelle, in Ehenish Prussia.
Ma]. Humes. Have you a degree from any institution in this
country ?
Mr. Huntington. From the Columbia University; mechanical
engineer.
Senator Wolcott. Your degree from the foreign institution was a
postgraduate degree?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; a postgraduate degree.
Senator Wolcott. What is your degree from Columbia ?
Mr. Huntington. Mechanical engineer.
Senator Wolcott. And your foreign degree is doctor of engineer-
ing?
Mr. Huntington. Engineering.
Maj. HuJiEs. Were you attached to the American Embassy in Pet-
rograd at any time?
Mr. Huntington. I was designated to the embassy as the commer-
cial attache of the Department of Commerce.
Maj. Humes. During what period of time were you serving in
that capacity?
Mr. Huntington. From June, 1916, until September, 1918.
Maj. Humes. Were you in Russia during all that time?
Mr. Huntington. During the entire period.
Maj. Humes. In what parts of Russia were you during that period?
Mr. Huntington. I began my work in Petrograd. Subsequently,
following instructions of my department, I traveled over, in the
summer of 1916, very nearly the whole of European Russia, that is
from Archangel as far south as Tiflis in the Caucasus, and as far
west as Finland, and down the Volga.
Senator Nelson. Were you in the Ukraine?
Mr. Huntington. At that period, yes, sir ; in 1916.
Senator Nelson. And in Little Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, that is practically the same thing.
Senator Nelson. And in Great Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. In Great Russia, yes. That is the part which
contains Petrograd and Moscow.
Senator Overman. Go ahead.
Mr. Huntington. Following that trip about Russia, which con-
sumed something over two months at that* time, I remained in Petro-
grad, only visiting Moscow for a period of time ; and then in February
of 1918, when the allied embassies all left Petrograd, I was sent out
by Mr. Francis, the American ambassador, to Siberia. So that in the
months of March and April, 1918, 1 lived in Siberia.
I returned again, on instructions of the ambassador, from Siberia
to Moscow, arriving there about the 1st of May, 1918, and remained
in Moscow until the 26th of August, when the American consulate
general, the Italian consulate general, the military mission, with
certain exceptions, one man in each case, and the IBelgians, repre-
sented, as it finally happened, by one man, their consul general, were
permitted to leave, with the American civilians, the confines of Rus-
sia.
Senator Nelson. Wliere did you go in Siberia?
38 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. HuNTixGTOx. Primarily to Irkutsk, which is the capital of
Eastern Siberia.
Senator Nelson. That is in the eastern part of Siberia, on the west
side of Lake Baikal ?
Mr. Huntington. Irkutsk, yes. I have also been around the lake
once, and I also went to Verkhne Udinsk.
Senator Nelson. Were you at Kiakhata ?
Mr. Huntington. I have never been there.
Senator Nelson. Were you down the river at all ?
Mr. Huntington. Although I have been on the river on a boat, I
ha\-e never been on it to go for any distance.
Senator Nelson. Were you down as far as the station at the mouth
of the Usuri River?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir.
Maj. Humes. Will you state what the conditions were as you ob-
served and found them during your stay in Russia, and especially
outline and give the committee any facts that you have in reference
to the actual application of the Soviet government after the revolu-
tion. Outline the conditions just as you found them from time to
time at the various points you are familiar with.
Senator Wolcott. Before you proceed to answer that question:
You say that jou left Moscow along with members of the Italian
consulate and others?
Mr. Huntington. There was a special train made up on that occa-
sion, composed of the staff of the American consulate general, of
American citizens who comprised chiefly, but not all, the employees
of the Y. M. C. A. and of the employees of the National City Bank,
which had a considerable staff, and a few others; the Italian repre-
sentatives, chiefly the Italian military mission, with their wives, and
the Belgians. *
As a matter of fact, only one Belgian, the consul general, came.
They had not a very large representation in the country at that time.
They were the three nationalities to go on that train.
Senator Wolcott. You used the expression that you were permit-
ted to leave. Were these various officials required to leave, in any
wise ? Were they requested to leave, or was the desire on their part
to leave, and was it that they got the permission to get this train
and thus get out?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; the last is the case. They had arrived at
a sort of impasse where they were no longer able to perform their
functions; so they requested, through the neutral powers — that is,
each one of the allied Governments was at that time under the pro-
tection of a neutral power, and they requested — permission to leave
the country. I say " finally allowed to leave," because there were
some negotiations on the subject, and the leaving was made con-
tingent upon certain counter concessions to the representatives of
the Bolsheviki government in other countries. This is a chapter of
the political history which, unless you care to have me, I will not go
into.
Senator King. The fact is that they murdered — the Bolsheviki
murdered — the British representative, and they made the lives of
the representatives of the other nations, including our own ambassa-
dor, so intolerable, and there was such a constant menace over them,
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 39
that they were compelled to leave? Is not that a fact, that they mur-
dered the British officer? I will ask you that first. I had several
questions in one.
Mr. Htjntington. Rather than to answer that directly, I should
say that a party of the Bolsheviki Eed Guard, under a commissar,
came to the British Embassy and eame into the embassy, which of
course is always recognized as the ground, in every part of the civil-
ized world, of the power at home — that is, the British Embassy or
the American Embassy is a piece of British soil or of America, as
the case may be, in the foreign country — they came in with arms,
intent on making a raid on the embassy, whereupon the British naval
officer in question, who was there, warned them to leave. They came
on and he opened fire on them, defending his own embassy.
Senator Nelson. Were you there, and did you see that?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir. At that time I was some miles from
Petrograd, a very short distance away, in a border town at the Fin-
nish border, the name of which in English is White Island. It is
about a half an hour distant from Petrograd. The news was brought
to us at that point.
Senator King. The officer was killed?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
. Senator King. You did not state that fact.
Mr. Huntington. Yes; of course he was killed.
Senator King. Our ambassador is not there, in Petrograd or in
Moscow ?
Mr. Huntington. At this moment?
Senator King. Yes.
Mr. Huntington. Oh, no sir.
Senator King. He and others were driven out, or conditions were
so intolerable that they left, many, many months ago ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; the conditions were made such that they
could not remain.
Senator King. And one of our representatives now is in jail, or
imprisoned by the Soviet, or by the Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Huntington. I understand that the former United States
consul in Petrograd is in prison in Turkestan.
Senator Nelson. Did you meet Mr. Leonard, of Minnesota, who was
attached to the service over there?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; on a number of occasions.
Senator Steeling. Is Ambassador Francis in Russia still?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir ; he has been in London, and was called,
so the newspapers stated, to Paris for a conference with our repre-
sentatives there. Whether he has returned to London I am not cer-
tain. I know no more of his movements there than what the news-
papers have told us.
Senator Steeling. He remained there some time after the other
legations had left ?
Mr. Huntington. In Russia ?
Senator Steeling. In Russia; not at Petrograd, but in Russia?
Mr. Huntington. I should explain that, sir, by saying that the
allied ambassadors and ministers in council had agreed at one time
to leave Petrograd, and had about agreed to leave the country ; that
some of them took steps to do so; that Ambassador Francis finally
4,0 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGAilDA.
decided not to leave Kussian soil, but transferred his embassy to a
town about 360 or 360 miles east of Petrograd, called Vologda.
Senator Nelson. That is at the railroad junction on the route from
Archangel to East Siberia?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, it is at the junction between the north and
south route to Archangel and the east and west route to Siberia.
There he was joined by the other allied representatives.
Senator Nelson. How far east of Petrograd is that point?
Mr. Huntington. My memory tells me it is 360 mUes. I think
I am nearly right.
Senator Nelson. Yes; and it is about due south from Archangel?
Mr. Huntington. Very nearly due south.
Senator Nelson. What is the distance from Archangel ?
Mr. Huntington. It is very nearly the same ; perhaps a little more.
The total distance to Archangel is 760 miles, so that I should say it
was about 400 miles from Archangel to Vologda.
Senator Sterling. Do you know whether any of the other repre-
sentatives were intercepted in their attempts to get out of the country,
or delaj'ed by the Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Huntington. In February, do you mean, or do you mean later
on in the last time ; in the last of August, when I described the de-
parture of the Americans, Italians, and Belgians ?
Senator Steeling. On either occasion were they delayed or pre-
vented?
Mr. Huntington. About the time in February I can not state in
detail, or from direct personal knowledge, since I left on the train
which took most of the American representatives out east, and was
sent subsequently with that train by the ambassador to Siberia.
Senator Overman. Why did the American representatives leave?
Mr. Huntington. At that time, sir?
Senator Overman. Yes ; at any time. Why did they leave Kussia ?
Mr. Huntington. There were two situations existing, if I may be-
allowed to say, at those times.
Senator Overman. Yes; that is what I want to know. Why did
they leave there ? We were at peace with them.
Mr. Huntington. So far as February was concerned, the immedi-
ate cause of leaving Petrograd was the feared German advance on
the town. The Germans were very near by in the Baltic Provinces,,
and the advices were such as to cause very great fear that they
would come to Petrograd. That was shared more or less by all, and
it was the cause also of the removal of the Bolshevik government
from Moscow at the same period.
Senator King. Senator Overman wants to know why our repre-
sentatives and the representatives of other nations finally left Eussia.
Mr. Huntington. Why they left Petrograd at that time?
Senator King. No ; why did the representatives leave Russia at all ?
Why are not the representatives of foreign Governments there now ?
Mr. Huntington. Simply because their treatment of the foreign
Governments is such as to make functioning as a Government repre-
sentative there at this moment impossible.
Senator Nelson. Were they not actually ordered out of the coun-
try, finally? Now, is not this the situation, that when they were
threatened with the German advance to Petrograd, the Bolshevik
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. , 41
government and the foreign representatives all retired to Moscow
and remained there for a while, and finally the foreign representatives
were compelled to leave Moscow ?
Mr. Huntington. Not quite so, Senator. In February, when the
German advance was expected, the American Embassy divided into
two parts, a larger part and a smaller part, the smaller part con-
taining the ambassador and one or two officers who stayed with him,
and the larger part, containing some of the citizens — the conditions
in Eussia having become very anarchical at that time, so that it was
thought very dangerous for the average person who had not official
business there to remain — we sent east in trains thatv passed out finally
through Siberia. The remaining, smaller section of the embassy
staff, composed of the ambassador and two or three of his secretaries,
proceeded after a day or two — those dates could be supplied — to the
town of "Vologda and remained there until, I should say — I should
wish to check this date absolutely ; it will be on file here in the appro-
priate department — I think until July, when the ambassador and the
allied embassies and legations left Vologda for Archangel.
Senator Nelson. Vologda is northeast of Moscow, is it not?
Mr. HtTNTiNGTON. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. About how far?
Mr. Huntington. About 250 miles.
Senator Nelson. So that our people retired from Moscow up to
that railroad junction?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir; our embassy at that time did not go to
Moscow. Our embassy, what was left of it,- was directed to Vologda.
The representatives that we had in Moscow were those of the Ameri-
can consulate general always stationed at that place and who did not
change their station.
Senator Nelson. Among them was Mr. Leonard?
Mr. Huntington. Mr. Leonard was a vice consul on the staff of
the American consul general.
Senator Overman. Were you there when Mr. Summers died?
Mr. Huntington. Mr. Summers died while I was en route to join
him. I learned of his death while passing through Vologda, on the
way to Moscow.
Senator King. Would you prefer, Doctor, to proceed in your own
way, giving a narrative and your testimony chronologically, or to
submit to these rather irregular interruptions, which must disturb
the chronological sequence of it?
Mr. Huntington. I had thought, if it was agreeable to you, to
make a brief chronological record and then submit to any cross-
examination.
Senator King. I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that he go on in that way.
Senator Overman. Proceed in that way, Mr. Huntington.
Mr. Huntington. As I understand it, what I am asked to appear
here and do is to tell as honestly and truthfully as I may what I know
of the theory aiid practice of the so-called Bolsheviki government in
Eussia.
I was sent to Eussia in 1916 as a commercial attache of the Depart-
ment of Commerce, accredited to the American Embassy. That
means that I was sent there as a Government employee. I had been
previously for two years in the Government employ in similar work.
42 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
I was sent to Russia to do my part in developing Russian- American
trade relations.
I took, up my quarters in the American Embassy, where my office
was situated, and was in constant touch with the ambassador and the
embassy's staff, so that I had rather unusual opportunities to observe
and study.
I spent eight months under the so-called regime — that is, under
the regime of the Czar Nicolas, from June, 1916, to March, 1917. On
the Russian New Year's Day, 1917, I was presented, with the other
members of the staff, to the Emperor.
In March the same Emperor had abdicated, and a very nearly
bloodless revolution took place, after which, first, the provisional gov-
ernment of Russia was formed. I then lived under this government
and its successors from March until November of 1917.
In November of 1917 came, after long preparation, the coup d'etat
of the so-called Bolshevik party, and this coup d'etat was successful ;
and I then lived under the Bolshevik regime from November of 1917
until September 1, to be accurate, of 1918.
Senator Nelson. Was it not the Kerensky government that suc-
ceeded the Czar's government in March, until November ?
Mr. Huntington. It is most often called the Kerensky government
because of the fact that Kerensky's name was the outstanding name.
Kerensky was npt the premier of the first provisional government,
but sat in it as the minister of justice, and his star was a rising one.
His influence grew, or the influence which was attributed to him, so
that in the succeeding combinations
Senator Nelson. I do not want to interrupt you, only my under-
standing is, and I want to bring that before you, that the real
Bolshevik government did not succeed until in the fall of 1917.
Mr. Huntington. That is very clear, sir. They did not come in —
were not able to gain the power — until eight months after the Rus-
sian revolution in March, 1917.
Beginning with June of 1916, and from that time onward, I had,
first, upwards of two months in Petrograd, and then over two months
traveling. The country was at war. At that period we were not, so
that the contrast was especially sharp to me who had come from a
peace country.
The transportation system was hopelessly overloaded. Russia is
weakly economically developed for her size, anyhow, being chiefly a
peasant country, a farming country, although some phases of indus-
try are strongly developed. But in general the economic and busi-
ness apparatus is a weak one.
The transportation was overloaded, which caused food difficulty.
In manufacturing, munition manufacturing was going on as best
they could, but still not enough. There was profiteering ; there was
corruption ; there were reports widely circulated of German intrigue
in high circles. The country at large was hard at work at war. Or-
dinary society as we know it was very much disturbed, mothers and
daughters of families being in the hospitals, and the fathers and
sons being at the front.
The losses were very great, and there were all the attendant conse-
quences of war.
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 43
Senator Wolcott. May I interject a question here? From your
observation do you think you are prepared to express an opinion as
to the wholeheartedness oi the Russian people who came under your
observation, in support of the war at that time ?
. Mr. Huntington. Those with whom I came in contact in the
towns, yes. The Russian peasant with whom I had contact as time
went on was, as the Russian peasant is, as a man, a local man, a man
with a very narrow vision, a man who has never had any oppor-
tunity, and as far as that permitted he was interested in the war. It
was always pointed out, universally, that the war as compared to
the very disastrous Japanese war, was a popular war, a people's war.
Senator Wolcott. So that you think the statement that before the
Czar abdicated the Russian people were as enthusiastic in favor of
the war as could be, to be a just statement, do you ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. Proceed with your story.
Mr. Huntington. At that time I traveled throughout Russia, and
in going through the provincial towns was able to go into many shops
and stores as a commercial traveler, so to speak, and to see the absence
of goods; was able to see the building operations held up, large
buildings in various parts of Russia, in the large towns, with scaffold-
ing about them, that could not go on for lack of material and labor;
was able to see how overloaded the railroads were ; was able to see the
graft which was used to get shipments made ; was able to see the work
which the Zemstvo organizations were doing, and without which the
war would not have gone on — they and the war industry committees
were in helping the Government ; was able to see how hard hit, under
the surface, Russia was, as a weakly organized economic and manu-
facturing country, having to put into the field the millions of soldiers
which she did.
Senator Nelson. You speak and understand the Russian language?
Mr. Huntington. For ordinary conversational purposes, and for
reading the newspapers, yes. For reading economic books, yes. To
gain a perfect knowledge of the language several years would be
required, and I do not claim to have a perfect knowledge of the lan-
guage.
Senator Steeling. I would like to have you at some time — you may
have it in mind to do so later — describe the Zemstvo and the authority
of the Zemstvo, and how it is constituted.
Mr. Huntington. I think that could be brought out later. I
should prefer, myself, to have documents to explain that.
Senator Steeling. Very well.
Senator Oveeman. Go on with your story.
Mr- Huntington. This situation which I have described, the bad
transportation, and the heavy load of the war, failure on the front
due to the lack of materiel, the soldiers not being provided with arms
and elementary things which they needed, went on. As the winter
drew on, the effect of this grew every day. I lived in an apartment,
and was able, through my servants, who taught me my first Russian,
to find out what difficulties they had in getting food in the shops.
Finally, in February and March the situation got to a head. A
general strike broke out of the workmen.
Senator Wolcott. This was in 1917?
44 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. HiTNTiNGTON. 1917. They could not quell it. The food ques-
tion was too acute. There was a universal feeling amongst the masses
that there was corruption; that nothing was being done. I had that
at that time from the servants, from the common people of the em-
bassy and my house, with whom I had come in contact. It was
talked about in stores and shops, and on the streets, that there was
corruption, and that the Germans were keeping food from the
people, and that sort of thing. There were parades in these strikes,
and Cossack soldiers were ordered out to stop those parades. For-
merly, in years gone by, they would have drawn their weapons and
would have fired, if necessary. At this time they did neither. They
rode up onto the sidewalks very gently and pushed people off without
hurting anybody. If they gathered too much they grinned. They
did not hurt anyone. It was freely stated to me by the people, by my
servants, that they would not fire, and it was known that they would
not fire; and before any of us who had not been through similar
things before, knew it, there was mutiny in the regiments at Petro-
grad followed by some street fighting. Then came the fighting with
the police, the old police, which was the hardest fighting of all, with
machine guns. They fought from the housetops.
In a few days it was all over, and ,the first provisional government
was formed from a committee of the Duma, which was the only i-ep-
resentative organization that they had.
Alongside of this provisional government there was immediately
formed the organization of the Soviets, so-called — " soviet " being the
Russian word for " council " — of workmen and soldiers, on the model
and pattern of the Soviets of 1905. These were primarily a move-
ment of the so-called social democrats, primarily socialistic and not
Bolshevistic, at that time. They aspirecl to put through policies and
exercise an influence on the government. They did not aspire, at that
period, to have members in the government, so far as I know, except-
ing their member, Kerensky, who served as a link between them and
the provisional government, sitting in both organizations.
Senator Nelson. Tell us what the Soviets were. You have not
done that yet.
Mr. Huntington. The word soviet is merely the Eussian word for
council. The Soviets were a form of group organizations which came
about first in the revolution of 1905, at the time of the Russo-Japa-
nese War, and which was not successful.
In the revolution of 1917 the Soviets were by men who were inter-
ested in this movement, formed, and immediately put one of their
number, Kerensky, into the provisional government which was
formed at the same time. They were not themselves the govern-
ment, nor did they at that time aspire to be, but they aspired, as a
political outer organization, to influence the government.
Senator Nelson. It seems to me that your description, right here,
is a little wrong. The situation is this, that the Russian peasants
settled in villages and communities, called mirs, and those Soviets are
organizations of those local communities. They constitute the Soviets.
Those organizations of these local communities constitute the soviet,
and these local communities send the representatives to the general
soviet at the headquarters. Now, is not that the case ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 45
Mr. Huntington. Yes; that grew to be somewhat the case except
that, if only because of the very hugeness of the country and the
ignorance of the peasants, it was never possible to organize them
well, in fact.
Senator Nelson. But your explanation did not cover that.
Mr. Huntington. I did not intend, primarily, Senator, to go into
this, because I did not care to specialize on this point, because I
wanted to speak more on the economic side.
Senator Nelson. Well
Mr. Huntington. The soviet organizations began in the great
cities ; began chiefly in Petrograd, which is the political center. They
subsequently extended throughout the country. The trained leaders
of the movement were in the towns, not in the country.
The movement at first did not even include the peasants ; not even
in its title. It was called " The Soviet of the Workmen and Soldiers.''
Of course, very many soldiers were peasants. Subsequently the titles
of many local Soviets were changed to include the word " peasants."
Presently the word " Cossack " was also used, but at that time in
Petrograd the organization was not as developed as it subsequently
became. There had not been time to extend it.
Now, the new provisional government which came into power at
that time found itself faced by the conditions which I have recited
to you as having been seen by me from the time of my arrival in 1916,
conditions of economic breakdown, breakdown of transportation and
business and manufacturing, in a country weakly economically devel-
oped, and at that time carrying on the greatest war in its history,
with millions of men in the field, and unable to back those men up
with arms, railway cars, and equipment. There was also the further
difficulty of the so-called dual authority, that is of a government, but
at the same time, along beside that government, the organization of
the Soviets which aspired to control it and had their central executive
committee in Petrograd, their local Soviets, as you say, in the prov-
inces ; that was a political conflict which went on and which resulted
in the changes from one government to the next which I would pre-
fer not to discuss, since there are political students who can do that
better than I, and resulted in the changing of the composition of the
first government, resulted in their resignation and their replacement
by other men. and resulted in the prominence, for a time, of Keren-
sky, and finally resulted in the Bolshevik coup d'etat of November.
in July of 1917 the situation had already, with the economic con-
ditions growing constantly worse, become so tense that the Bolshe-
viks, as the slang phras'e goes, tried their movement on, and there
was for several days, in Petrograd, anarchy. That is, the government
went into hiding, could not be found during that period, and troops,
the local garrison, marched in the streets, groups of irresponsible
men went around in motor trucks with machine guns, men were
up in the top floors of houses, shooting out of the windows, etc.
The only result of that was 16 dead horses, which I counted in the
so-called Liteiny Prospect, one of the principal streets, and a Cos-
sack funeral, the Cossacks having been sent out to bring kbout order.
The Bolshevik group was active always in the soviet organization.
The soviet, as I explained to you, was a movement primarily of
workmen of the cities, later expanded to the peasants, and it was
46 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
predominantly Menshevik — that is, the opposite of Bolshevik. The
Bolsheviki were represented in' the soviet, took part in the debates,
stood for certain principles, were outvoted and were a minority party
in the soviet.
Senator King. There were some bourgeois in the original soviet?
Mr. Huntington. In the original Soviets there were verj' few. I
do not know of any so-called bourgeois except for some intellectuals
like Kerensky, if you like, and men of that type.
I should qualify that, and say if you mean by bourgeois, the edu-
cated men who have had greater opportunities in life, yes; there
were several of those.
Senator Nelson. Can you tell us how the Bolshevik revolution
broke out in November, 1917? Can you tell us anything about that?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; I think so. I was present the entire
time.
After the " try-on " in July, which failed because the spirit was not
worked up sufficienth', yet, to make it win, thej' were quiet for a
time, and we went through further changes in the structure of the
nominal government.
Senator Nelson. By that, you mean the provisional government?
Mr. Huntington. I mean the provisional government headed by
Kerensky.
Senator Nelson. Now, you have skipped an interregnum there,
my friend. Under the Kerensky government they continued to make
further war on German}' and to keep on, until finally the army of
soldiers refused to fight and became demoralized. That was before
the revolution of November, 1917. Now, is not that a fact?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; that is a fact. The changes in Petro-
grad, the changes in the central government, had not been without
influence on the army, very naturally, since war was the chief prob-
lem before the government at that time, aside from being fed, and
the change from the old regime, the change of discipline, the taking
away of the former command, and the introduction into the army, by
idealists like Kerensky, of untried principles of discipline, all con-
spired to bring about disintegration and lack of interest. That was
backed up constantly by the Bolshevik propaganda. The Bolshe-
viki were working in the city of Petrograd principally, which was,
of course, also the political head of Russia, and at the front, to
break down the spirit of war, the spirit of carrying on the war, with
Germany.
Senator King. Pardon me, right there. Kerensky, Rodzianko,
and Prince Lvoff, those who were controlling the provisional gov-
ernment, were strong allies of France and England, and the op-
ponents of the central powers, and anxious for Russia to do her part
in the great struggle for the defeat of the central powers ?
Mr. Huntington. There is no question about that.
Senator King. And Germany had spies and agents in Russia, and
they conspired with traitors in Russia for the purpose of disorganiz-
ing the army, undermining the morale of the Russian people and
finally compelling the withdrawal of Russia from participation in
the war ?
Mr. Huntington. That is correct, sir.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 47
Senator King. And the Bolsheviks were there leading the treason
against their own government and against the allies ?
Mr. Huntington. The Bolsheviks are internationalists, and they
were not interested in the particular national ideals of Russia.
Senator Overman. What was the nature of the propaganda?
Can you tell us what that was?
Mr. Huntington. Sending agitators, so called, and pamphlets,
to the troops in the army throughout the campaign, telling them if
they were to keep on fighting, they were fighting for imperialistic
and selfish aims of world power by the allies, who were practically
just as selfish in their aims as Germany was in hers. Also advising
peasant soldiers to go home so as not to lose their share of the land
which, they said, was being divided up.
Senator King. Including the United States?
Mr. Huntington. Including the United States.
Senator King. They made as bitter an attack upon our Government
as they did upon England and France ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator King. And their object was to destroy us as it was to de-
stroy the other allied Governments?
Mr. HuNTiNGTON; Yes.
Senator Oveeman. Can you tell us anything about their pamphlets
and speeches?
Senator King. Just one question.
Senator Overman. Ygs.
Senator Nelson. Their aim was to commit treason against the
cause of the allied Governments, and in favor of Germany and
Austria ; that is, to help Germany and Austria win the fight.
Mr. Huntington. That would have to be stated differently, Sena-
tor. Their aim was an aim of a group of fanatics who have their
own game to play. They are perfectly willing to accept aid from
Germany in playing that game. Germany had at all times had Russia
honeycornbed with spies. Germany knew Russia better than any
otlier country. Germany had more people within her borders and
out who spoke Russian, and had studied Russia and had been in
business in Russia, than any other country.
The Bolsheviks were a party who believed in so-called interna-
tionalism, who believed in the abolishment of war, who believed in
the immediate establishment, in the bringing about, of the socialistic
state, and were against this war because, as they say, they believed it
to be a war of capitalists. They expected German money to win
their cause, which was to stop the war. Germany used them as a
military instrument to break down the military power in the east,
and when she had broken it down, promptly threw her soldiers over
to the west against us.
Senator King. The Bolsheviks, then, were really allies of Germany
and Austria?
Mr. Huntington. They were, for practical purposes; from a
military point of view, practically our point of view.
Senator King. The Bolsheviks got the Russians to commit treason
against their own Government and against the cause of the allies?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; because they did not believe in the cause.
Senator King. Yes.
■i8 BOLSHEVIK i-KOPAGANDA.
Mr. Huntington. Xeither did tlu'y wish the German cause to win,
as such, because Germany to tliem is an imperialistic government, or
was, and they were quite as anxious to destroy that government as to
destroy' ours. They are a third party in the triangle of opinion, if
you like, but as they themselves admit, they are quite unscrupulous
in the means they take to gain their end ; so they were willing to take
the German money and to use it for their own principles.
Germany is a crook, who, as we have proven, is perfectly unscrupu-
lous in the use of any means that offer, to gain her end ; and they, as
equally good croolcs, or I think a little bit better, were using Ger-
many to gain their end; so that we have the spectacle of these two
using each other to gain their ends.
Senator Overman. What was their statement about our country?
What is their objection to our Government?
Mr. Huntington. What is their objection to the Government?
Senator Overman. Yes; to our Government.
Mr. Huntington. Their objection is twofold. In the first place,
we had joined in the war, and they were against the war.
In the second place, we are not a socialistic Government, and they
do not approve of us for that reason.
Senator King. Is it not a fact that Trotsky and a number of other
men who were in this country, undesirables, bad in every way, went
back to Russia and did all they could to prejudice the Russian people
against our country; that they denounced our country — Trotsky
and others — as an imperialistic Government?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; they did.
Senator King. And they are just as bitterly opposed to the United
States, to our representative form of government, and would destroy
it just as quickly as tliej' would destroy that of any other country
in the world?
Mr. Huntington. Exactly.
Senator King. And their purpose now is our destruction, as it is
the destruction of all orderly governments through the world?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Is not this a fact — I want to bring it to your
attention — that after the Kerensky government — I call it that for
short — came into power temporarily they issued a general pardon for
all offenders, especially those that had been sent to Siberia, and that
Lenine was one of the men that was pardoned, and that he came
back by way of Switzerland and was given a passport by the German
authorities to come back to Russia? Do you know anything about
that, or have you heard anything about it ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; I have heard, and I remember per-
fectly well when Mr. Lenine first began to come into Petrograd
and speak on the streets.
Senator Nelson. Did you not know that he was one of the men
pardoned who Avns in Siberia, and that he came back by way of
Switzerland ?
Mr. Huntington. I do not believe Lenine was at this period in
Siberia. He returned to Russia from Switzerland.
Senator Nelson. And got a passport from the German authorities?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; he came into Petrograd. I can not remem
ber the time when he began to come. He met, of course, at that time
with gi-eat resistance.
BOLSHEVTK PROPAGANDA. 49
Senator Nelson. Did you ever see him?
Mr. HrrNTiNGTON. Yes; for once, in the constituent assembly
-which tried to meet and was dismissed.
Senator Nelson. By him and Trotsky ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; by Lenine and Trotsky. I sat at that time
in the press gallery and looked down on him, not farther from him
than you are this moment from me.
Senator Nelson. Those two are the ringleaders of the Bolshevik
movement, are they not?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, they are the brains of the movement.
Maj. Humes. Is it not a fact that Lenine in going from Switzer-
land to Russia went through Germany?
Mr. Huntington. Yes. ,
Maj. Humes. He was permitted td tf aver through Germany for
the purpose of reaching Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. Did you hear him speak on the street?
Ml-. Huntington. No ; t have never heard Lenine speak. I have
heard Trotsky speak, on the street and in meetings of th6 Soviet.
Senator Wolcott. Doctor, would this be a correct statement or
way of summing up the purposes of this Bolshevik group as they
existed at the time you have just been speaking of, namely,'that they
were the enemies of all governments organized along lines other than
those that met with their own fantastic notions ; and therefore they
were the enemies of the United States or of the allied Govern-
ments, and of Germany — enemies, I mean, to those forms of govern-
ment ; that they found in their own country a people who were sym-
pathetic with the allies, and in order to break that sympathy they
accepted money from Germany, whose form of government they
did not like, for the purpose of getting the Russian people in line
with their socialistic notions; that they hoped to break down the
allied sympathies in Russia, and then weld the Russians together into
a Bolshevik government, expressing' the Bolshevik idea, in the hope
that then they would have such strength as to carry their principles
throughout the world and overthrow all established governments?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; that is true. I would like, if I could here,
to read some statements of the Bolshevik government from this [in-
dicating paper].
Senator Nelson. No, but, Mr. Chairman, if you will allow me;
instead of getting this by piecemeal, if you can tell us — we can not
stay here always — what the doctrines, and creed, and principles of
government of the Bolshevik government are, that is what we would
like to know, not these mere scattering quotations.
Mr. Huntington. I can do that, sir. I would like, however, to
read to you exactly what they say their own doctrines are.
Senator Wolcott. It seems to me that is better than the doctor's
interpretation of them.
Mr. Huntington. In the first place, I have a circular here which
I read at the time it came, which is an open circular. There is noth-
ing secret about it. It is not diplomatic correspondence. It was
sent to every embassy and legation in Petrograd.
Senator Wolcott. Sent by whom?
85723—19 i
50 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Huntington. The Bolshevik government then located in
Petrograd. The matter at issue was the matter of diplomatic
couriers.
Senator Wolcott. What is the date of that ?
Mr. Huntington. December 15, 1917. [Eeading:]
From the people's commissariat of foreign afCairs. For the information of
the allied and neutral embassies and legations. * * * The fact that the
Soviet Government considers necessary diplomatic relations not only with the
governments hut also with the revolutionary Socialist parties, which are stiiv-
ing -for the overthrow of the existing governments, is not suflBcient ground for
statements to the effect that " an unrecognized government " can not have
diplomatic couriers. * * *
This is their own statement in a circular letter.
Senator Sterling. Who issued that letter?
Mr. Huntington. The commissar for foreign affaits.
Senator Steeling. Lenine and Trotsky were then at the head of
the Bolshevik rule or government?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Steeling. That was during their regime?
Mr. Huntington. Oh, yes ; that was within a month of their com-
ing into power.
Senator Steeling. At that time Trotsky was the commissar for
foreign affairs?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Nelson. The meat of that circular is simply this, that even
if they had not been technically recognized as a de jure government,,
they were in fact the government, and as such their couriers ought
to have recognition. Is not that the substance of it ?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir ; I beg your pardon. I think the meat
of it is that they considered it necessary to have relations., and claimed
the right to have relations, not only with established governments in
our country and in other countries, but with the revolutionary so-
cialist parties seeking to overthrow these governments.
Senator Nelson. And did they not put it on the ground that they
are a de facto government ?
Mr. Huntington. I do not understand you, sir.
Senator Nelson. Do you not understand a little law Latin ?
Mr. Huntington. I have forgotten, mostly, what I knew.
Senator Nelson. Do you know the difference between a de facto
government and a de jure government?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; but the important thing for us is, in
that statement, sir
Senator Nelson. Go ahead ; go ahead.
Senator Oveeman. Their purpose, then, was to overthrow all gov-
ernments?
Mr. Huntington. They say so.
Senator Wolcott. That circular shows plainly their intention to
overthrow all governments, and they wanted to establish relations with
all revolutionary^ parties under these governments from which they
were seeking vises for their couriers. That is the purpose of that,
very clearly, to my mind. They did not pay any attention to the
established governments.
Mr. HuifTiNGTON. Again, from a statement from "their own lips:
Sometime ago there was published in a paper called One Year of the
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 51
Eevolutlon, published in this country, some diplomatic correspond-
ence. I have tested this diplomatic correspondence to see whether
it took place, and it did, and it is correctly given here. In the course
of the reply of Mr. Tchitcherin, of which I have the date here in
my notes, he said this [reading] :
To the neutral legations who protested against the cruelties of the Bolshevik
regime Mr. Tchitcherin, the commissar for foreign affairs, says :
" We are convinced that the masses in all countries who are writhing under
the oppression of a small group of exploiters will understand that in Russia,
force is being used only in the holy cause of the liberation of the people, that
they will not only understand us, but will follow our example."
Senator Overman. What is that document you read from?
Mr. Huntington. That is a letter written by Mr. George Tchit-
cherin, commissar- of foreign affairs of the Bolshevik govermnent,
to the neutral legations in Russia who protested against the cruel-
ties of the Bolshevik regime. It is addressed in care of the Swiss
minister, dated September 5. That is only one sentence in it.
Senator Overman. But the document itself, was that printed in
this country?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; it has been printed in this country. How
it got through here I do not know, but it has escaped the censor-
ship and been printed in this country, although a diplomatic docu-
ment.
Senator Overman. What is the red flag on the back of that
pamphlet?
Mr. Huntington. That is the illustration on the cover.
Senator Sterling. Have you that passage marked there, which you
read?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir.
Maj. Humes. It was just after or about the time of the writing
of that letter that all the representatives of the neutral Governments
were compelled to leave Russia,
Mr. Huntington. That was September 5 when that letter was
written. We had just gone. The others followed us within a short
time.
Senator Overman. Were you compelled to leave, or did you leave
from fear, or were you ordered to leave?
Mr. Huntington. We left, sir, because we were unable to perform
our functions. I mean by that that the diplomatic and consular
officers could not longer treat with the de facto government; that
they found it impossible to protect American citizens, which was a
part of their function ; that they could not correspond with our Gov-
ernment because it was forbidden. We were the only consulate gen-
eral in Moscow allowed to send even a wireless, and we have found
out since that most of the wireless messages we sent were not al-
lowed to pass through. We have also found out that most of the
wireless messages which were sent to us, which are serially numbered,
never reached us. Being unable to communicate with our Govern-
ments ; being treated with discourtesy ; being unable to protect the
lives and property of our citizens resident there, we were scarcely in
a position to render any service any more. The danger, as such,
played no" part in the transaction at all, except for those who had
52 BOLSHEVIK PBOPAGANDA.
no work to do. For us who had work to do, had we been able to con-
tinue that work, the danger would have had nothing to do with it.
Senator Overman. You were not threatened?
Mr. Huntington. As a matter of fact, it was dangerous, of coui'se.
The British Embassy representatives were put under ai'rest. The
Americans were never, until the time we left, arrested, with the ex-
ception of one man who was arrested in the town of Vologda and
kept under arrest some 10 days before we knew of it. They never
informed us. We found it out by accident.
The British and French, however, including the consular officers,
were arrested, both civilians and officials. It was in the manifest
impossibility of doing any work, of accomplishing anything, of being
allowed to communicate with our Government at home, being
isolated
Senator Overman. Can you state to us the character of those cruel-
ties and what was going on while j'ou were there — ^the extent of it ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; I can to a considerable extent ; and in order
to make you understand it, perhaps I could read again from the
official proclamations of the Bolshevik government. Reading from
the official newspapers of the Bolshevik government under date of
September 2, there is the following — this was the day after we passed
the border.
Senator Nelson. September 2 of what year?
Mr. Huntington. 1918. [Reading:]
Murder of Volodarski and Urkitski —
Urkitski was one of the terrorist commissars who, while our train
was lying on the side track in the Finland Station, was shot by a
young student who came into his office. [Continuing reading :]
Murder of Volodarski and Urkitski, attempt on Lenin and shooting of masses
of our comrades in Finland, Ukrania, the Don and Tshecko-Slovia, continual
discovery of conspiracies in our rear, open acknowledgement of right social
revolutionists party and other counter-revolutionary rascals of their part in
these conspiracies, together with insignificant extent of serious repressions and
shooting of masses of White Guard and bourgeoisie on the part of the Soviets,
all these things show that notwithstanding frequent pronouncements urging
mass terror against the social revolutionists. White Guards and bourgeoisie, no
real terror exists.
Such a situation should decidedly be stopped. End should be put to weakness
arid softness. All right social revolutionists known to local Soviets should be
arrested immediately. Numerous hostages should be taken from the bourgeois
and officer classes. At the slightest attempt to resist or the slightest movement
among the White Guards, shootings of masses of hostages should be begun
without fail. Initiative in this matter rests especially with the local executive
committees.
Through the militia and extraordinary commissions, all branches of govern-
ment must take measures to seek out' and arrest persons hiding under false
names and shoot without fail anybody conected with the work of the White
Guards.
All above measure should be put immediately into execution. Indecisive
action on the part of local Soviets must be immediately reported to peoples
commissar for home afiairs. Not the slightest hesitation or the slightest
indecisiveness in using mass terror.
That is an order from the commissar for home affairs to the
Soviets.
Senator Overman. Explain who the White Guard are.
Mr. Huntington. The White Guard are everybody except the
lied Guard. The Eed Guard are nominally the loyal army, gathered
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 53
around the Bolshevik government to fight the so-called class struggle
for the social revolution.
Senator Wolcott. The Eed Guard are the Bolsheviks and the
White Guard are everybody else?
Mr. Huntington. Practically speaking, that is it. " If you are not
with us, you are against us."
Senator Overman. Then that order was to shoot down everybody
who was not with them ?
Mr. Huntington. And to shoot hostages if anything happened to
any of their people.
On the 11th of September, about 10 days after our departure from
Eussia, the following letter was received by Maj. Allen Wardwell,
commanding the American Red Cross in Eussia. Because of the
shooting of a large number of people in Petrograd, Maj. Wardwell
had written a letter as a Eed Cross officer to the Bolshevik govern-
ment, namely to the commissar for home affairs, Mr. Tchitcherin,
protesting in the name of humanity against the killings, which did
not take place in field fighting, but were shootings of people against
brick walls.
Senator Wolcott. Massacres ; murders ?
Mr. Huntington: Yes. This letter is as follows:
[Republique Russe Federative (Jps Soviets Commissariat du Peupie pour Les Affaires
etrangeres Le 11 Septeml>re, 1918, Moscow.]
Mr. Allen Waedwell,
Major Commanding the American Red Cross.
Deae Sib : It is only because the body which you represent is not a political
organization that I can find it compatible with my position not to repudiate
ofE hand your intervention as a displaced immixtion in the affairs of a for-
eign state, but to enter in the friendly spirit corresponding to the character
of your organization into a discussion of the matter involved. Tou affirm
that your organization did not hesitate to condemn acts of barbarity on the
part of our adversaries. Where are these utterances of condemnation? When
and in vehat form did the American Red Cross protest \yhen the streets
of Samars were filled with corpses of young workers shot in batches by
America's allies or when the prisons' of Omsk were filled with tens of
thousands of the flower of the working class and the best of them executed
without trial or when just now in Novorossiisk the troops of England's
mercenary AlexejefE murdered in cold blood seven thousand wounded who were
left behind by our retreating army, or when the oossacks of the same Alexejeff
murdered without distinction the young men of their own race in whom they
see a revolutionary vanguard? I would be very glad to learn what the
American Red Cross has done in order to publicly brand these untold atrocities,
the everyflay work of our enemies, everywliere iiracticed liy them upon our
friends when they have the power to do it. But are these the only atrocities
around us?
In a wider field, at the present period when the oligarchies who are the
rulers of the world drench the earth with streams of blood, cover it with
heaps of corpses and whole armies of maimed and fill the whole world with
unspeakable sufferings, why do you turn your indignation against those who,
rising against this whole system of violence, oppression, and murdei' that
bears as If for the sake of mockery the name of civilization, those I repeat
who in their desperate struggle against the ruling system of the present
world are compelled by their very position in the furnace of a civil war to
strike the class foes with whom the life and struggle is raging? And in a
still wider field are not the sacrifices still greater, still more innumerable,
which are exacted every day on the battlefield of labor by the ruling system
of exploitation which grinds youth and life force and happiness of the multi-
tude for the sake of the profits of the few? How can I characterize the
humanity of the American Red Cross which is dumb to the system of every-
day murder and turns against those who have dared to rise against It and
54 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
surrounded by mortal enemies from all sides are compelled to strike?
Against these fighters who have thrust themselves Into the flre of battle for
a whole new system of human society you are not even able to be otherwise
than unjust. Our adversaries are not executed as you affirm for holding
other political views than ourselves, but for taking part in the most terrible
of battles, in which no weapon is left untouched against us, no crime is left
aside and no atrocities are considered too great when the power belongs to
them. Is it not known to you that by the decree of September 3rd the death
sentences are applied only for distinct crimes, and besides Randitism and
ordinary crimes they are to be applied for participation in the white guard
movement, that is the movement which helps to surround us everywhere
with death snares, which unceasingly attacks us with fire and sword and
every possible misfortune and wishes to prepare for us, if only it had the
power to do so, complete extermination?
You speak of execution of 500 persons in Petrograd as of one particularly
striking instance of acts of like character. As for the number it is the only one.
Among these 500, 200 were executed on the ground of the decision of the local
organization to whom they were very well known as most active and danger-
ous counter-revolutionaries nnd 300 had been selected already sometime ago as
belonging to the vanguard of the counter-revolutionary movement. In the pas-
sion of the struggle tearing our whole people, do you not see the sufferings,
untold during generations, of all the unknown millions who were dumb during
centuries, and whose concentrated despair and rage have at last burst into the
open, passionately longing for a new life, for the sake of which they have the
whole existing fabric to remove? In the great battles of mankind hatred and
fury are even so unavoidable as in every battle and in every struggle. Do you
not see the beauties of the heroism of the working class, trampled under the feet
of everybody who were above them until now, and now rising in fury and pas-
sionate devotion and enthusiasm to re-create the whole world and the whole life
of mankind? Why are you blind to all this in the same way as you are dumb
to the system of atrocities against which this working class has risen? It is
only natural, then, if you are unjust against those whom you light-heartedly con-
demn, if you distort even the facts of the case, if you see wanton vengeance
against persons of other views there, where in reality there is the most terrible,
the most passionate, the most furious battle of one world against the other,
in which our enemies with deadly weapons are lurking behind every street
corner, and in which the executions of which you speak, executions of real and
deadly enemies, are insignificant in comparison with the horrors which these
enemies try to prepare for us, and in comparison with the immeasurable horrors
of the whole system with which we are at present at grips in a life and death
struggle.
I remain.
Yours, truly,
(Signed) G. Tchitchkbin.
I think that is probably as good a statement as you could have of
the point of view and the aims of the Bolshevik government.
Senator Overman. Did you observe any of their cruelties? Did
you see any of it yourself?
Mr. Huntington. I have seen many arrests. I have been in
prisons. I was never personally arrested. I have not been present at
shootings. I have known of people being led out to be shot. Very
few people are present at shootings. Satisfactory evidence had it
that most of them were performed at night and in cellars, and, it was
said, with Maxim silencers on the muzzles of the rifles, to muffle the
sound. Friends of mine have been in prisons and have seen people
daily led out for shooting, who have never come back. I have seen
deportations of whole trainloads of people, herded in freight cars,
taken away from their homes.
Senator Overman. Women and children also?
Mr. HtTNTiNGTON. Men, women, and children.
Senator Overman. Was there a reign of terror there ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 55
Mr. Huntington. Very decidedly, sir; and there is no denial of
it, but a justification of it, in that letter and in the other letters. If
you will recall the words which I read from the same Mr. Tchitcherin
to the neutral legations, you will recall that he says that the masses
of the world will understand what they are doing as violence neces-
sary to attain a certain end, and will not only understand it but adopt
it themselves in their respective countries.
If yOu have nothing more, sir, I would like to take up the economic
side.
Senator Nelson. I would like to hear, if you will tell us, what their
plan and scheme of government is— this Bolshevik government — and
what they expect to accomplish. That is more important. I would
like to know what sort of a government they are seeking to establish
there, and upon what principles?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir ; I will tell you the best I know. I have
been present there throughout the whole time, and I am able to read
the papers, and I read them daily. There are no other papers in
Russia now, and have not been for many months, but the Bolshevik
papers. Long ago they suspended the papers of all parties opposed
to them, saying that freedom of the press must unfortunately be
sacrificed to the good of their movement.
Maj. Humes. Then there is no freedom of the press in Russia under
the Bolshevist government?
Mr. Huntington. There is no pretense of freedom of the press, sir.
Maj. Humes. Is it not a fact that the constitution of the soviet
republic provides expressly for depriving people of the rights of
free press and free speech, and any other rights that may be exer-
cised to the detriment of the revolutionary party ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; that is a part of the principle. In an-
swer to your question. Senator, do I make myself plain?
Senator Nelson. Well, you have not got at it yet. [Applause.]
Senator Overman. What does that mean, that cheering back there?
Bring an officer in here, Mr. Clerk.
Senator Nelson. I want to know, in short, what their scheme and
plan of government is that they are inaugurating, and propose to
inaugurate.
Mr. Huntington. Yes,. sir; I will tell you that, the best I can.
Senator Nelson. And the methods they intend to pursue in in-
augurating that government. , That is what we are anxious to know.
Mr. Huntington. Briefly, this: The present state of the world is
unsatisfactory. We have war. We have injustice to the gi'eat masses
of the people, so they say. These are great evils. The present state
of the constitution of society, which is known as the capitalist state,
has outlived its usefulness ; has shown itself unable to cope with these
great injustices, war, and unequal distribution of wealth. The capi-
talist state of society must, therefore, go. To get rid of the capitalist
state of society, which is a long habit with human nature, is a very
difficult task. It is faced primarily by the difficulty that those who
have property part with it unwillingly. Now, in order to get rid of
this capitalist state of society we are going to have the socialist state
of society, loosely, because the definitions of various people differ,
but in general, a state of society whereby the government, the state,
owns all the means of production, factories, farms, railroads, in-
56 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
dustries, steamship lines, etc., ^Yhereby there is no property ex-
cept— I do not know about personal property; that depends on the
views of the individual persons — but there is no great property, no
industrial property, no fartiing property, in private ownership, but
only that of the state ; that by removing from the capitalist class the
temptation of money g'etting, by the fact that they can no longer ac-
cumulate wealth but become govex-nment servants, like those of us
who are to-day in the employ of the government, by removing those
temptations, war and injustice are obviated.
Senator Nelson. One part of their creed, then, is to divest private
ownership of all property and property rights, and confer it upon
the state or the government?
Mr. Huntington. Very definitely; yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. That is one of the primary articles of faith.
Then, after they have done that, after they have taken, for instance,
the land from the private owners, what do they provide as to the
utilization of the land after that ?
Mr. Huntington. That is to come later. If 1 may go on, I would
like to answer that in a moment.
Senator Nelson. Go on; yes.
Mr. Huntington. To realize this is very difficult. They have
found, naturally, there is great opposition on the part of those who
own the property. Their aims, they say, are the aims of the socialist
movement throughout the world for many years, but the socialist
movement throughout the world, which is opposed to them to-day, ,
has been unsuccessful because it has tried to work in the parliamen-
tary manner, by convincing people, sending representatives to par-
liament and voting their measures through. They therefore have to
resort to compulsion. To compel, they divest those who have prop-
erty of that property by force. Should they resist, they may even
kill them, as you have seen, and justify that.
Senator Nelson. In short, they propose to divest the ownei-s of
their property, by violence, if need be ?
Mr. Huntington. If need be.
Senator NEL'iON. And without any compensation?
Mr. Huntington. Without any compensation. In the interim
when their new state is being prepared — an interim of indefinite
length — they provide for the so-called dictatorate of the proletariat;
that is, to take and arbitrarily divide all mankind into so-called
bourgeois, that is the capitalists — and in that they include everj^one
from those who own the smallest houses, right through to a million-
aire. They arbitrarily divide all mankind into that class — and, on the
other hand, the proletariat, who ha^-e no property holdings. They
want to push out of the way the upper class. They do not con-
template the participation of this class in the government. They
contemplate the participation only of the proletariat in the govern-
ment, and that is why, on this question of a dictature of the prole-
tariat—that is, when they have finished their revolution in Eussiaj
not the original revolution but their revolution— they intend to keep
the formerly propertied classes from voting in the new government
whichi they will have established.
The dictature of the proletariat is fraught with difficulty because,
especially in a countiy like Eussia, where due to the tyranny and
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 57
laziness of the olcl regime, the proletariat had very few chances, the
proletariat are not educated. So they need leaders, a,nd Mr. Lenine
and Mr. Trotsky and their associates put themselves forward as the
leaders. ' The" result is that whereas there is on paper a complete
system of voting, of representation, the central executive committee
of all. the Soviets — which, as you have rightly stated, are placed
throughout the country wherever their power extends — is dominated
by a few brainy men, fanatics like Lenine and Trotskj\ The for-
merly propertied classes — and of course in their division they make
it arbitrarj', as they like — could not participate in this council, nor
is it expected that they will. At some distant date, when this prelimi-
nary ground work is carried out, it is contemplated to permit these
people who, by that time, perhaps have had a change of heart, or to
permit their children, to participate in the new social state which has
then been reached.- ■ This is an interregnum in which the proletariat
conducts the didtature.
Senator Nelson. In that term " proletariat " you include not
only workmen but others — peasants?
Mr. HtJNTiNGTON.' Yes; that term originally included workmen
only, but was exfehded to peasants; but they came from the party of
worlarien in the ''eifies in former times, and not the peasants.
Senator Nelson. What has become of the old nihilist element?
Are they mixed into this new scheme ?
Mr. Huntington. I am not competent to pass on that.
Maj. Hx;mes.>' Is there nOt a distinction, in their ■ application of
their laws and -their administration, between peasants and what they
term the " poor " peasants ?
Mr. HtJNTiiiGTON. Gn that comes again the question. I told you
that they divided; mankind arbitrarily into two classes; the bour-
geois, as they sayj-thatis those who have Capital, and the proletariat.
Of course, they make the division, they make the distinction, and they
put in "their divi^si'dns whom they like, because it is an arbitrary
matter. In Russia there are',' in most peasant communities, peasants
who have, under the systems which have been provided, bought
lands of their ovifri'."- There are certain ones, who, as it happens in
every community, are better provided with the good things of life,
the harder workers of more energetic, and they are systematically
excluded by the Bolsheviks and placed opposite, in the community,
to the so-called poor peiasants; those who have little property, who
in the old vodka days had been addicted to drunkenness, or who
econoiriically. have inade poor progress in life. In the villages those
two groups of men are set against each other.
Senator Nelson. Is hot this true, when you come back to the
peasantry and all, farmers, that the ownership of land is in what
they- call the mir^ the village community; that they are settled in
villages, in communities, and the title of the land is in the mir or
in the community— in the municipality, as we call it here^-and
that they from year to year apportion parts of the land to be used
by cerfein peasant^*? In other words, the peasants are not cdm-
plete'.-owners, iri:the- sense in which our farmers are owners, but
the ownership of theiand is in the community, the mir, and the mir
distributes the • usfe of the land among the peasants ? Is not that
the condition? ' -
58 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Huntington. That is true, Senator, for about 80 per cent of
the country.
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Huntington. The remaining one-fifth, we will say, of the
lands are in private ownership.
Senator Nelson. In large estates?
Mr. Huntington. No; I do not speak of those now. I leave
those quite out of account. I am speaking of the peasants, the
20 per cent ; and that varies according to the portion of the country.
Private peasant ownership is more in the south and west than in the
north. They are not only sometimes the holders of the mir, in
which they have a part, but they own land of their own, which it
was permitted them to buy or arranged for them to buj' under cer-
tain reforms introduced by the old imperial government.
Senator Nelson. That is mostly in southern Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. The majority of it is southern Russia and
western Russia.
Senator Nelson. In what we call the Ukraine ?
Mr. Huntington. The Ukraine is the heart of South Russia.
Senator Overman. Now, having got this property, taken from
the people who owned it, into the State, what do they propose to do
with it?
Mr. Huntington. Just the same as the ideal socialists. I sup-
pose you are speaking of the fact
Senator Overman. What do they propose to accomplish? What
is the end? When they get all this property in the State, what
do they propose to do with it ?
Mr. Huntington. It is proposed that life should go on very
much as it does now, except very much better ; that we should have
food, and clothing, and transportation, and all those things under
the State instead of in private ownership; that all of us will be
employees of the State and not employees of private concerns.
Senator Overman. All government officers?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. Everybody will be a government officer?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. How do they propose to handle the manufactur-
ing industries under the new regime ? How do they propose to oper-
ate them ? Now, we will say that the workmen take possession of a
big industrial plant under this system, what do they propose to do
after they have taken possession, and how do they propose to operate?
Mr. Huntington. What happened, sir, was this : In the beginning
of their administration they immediately provided for the so-called
control of production of the factories by the workmen, and this went
into effect; and workmen's committees did actually take over most
factories.
Senator Nelson. In other words, they were to be run by the work-
men themselves?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir. In the original legislation, as I remem-
ber it, the proprietor would be in a manner engaged as an expert
assistant. Indeed, it was first provided, I believe, that he should
receive a rental for his work, and he would participate in the man-
agement. They would get the benefit of his experience.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 59
Senator Nelson. They went so far, however, in their program as
to recognize the fact that they needed experts who belonged to the
capitalist class, who were termed intellectuals, and to say that they
would employ some of them in the first instance to assist them in
running the factories ; was not that true ?
Mr. Huntington. They took over the factories with a great deal of
enthusiasm, but very shortly, in most cases, came to grie£ That is, a
variety of things happened; either the grief remamed or in some
cases tactful employers made an arrangement with their men whereby
really their brains were used in the production, and there was a
modus operandi worked out between them and the factory and the
factory was enabled to go on.
Where that did not take place the factory came to grief, as most
of them did.
Even where that did take place, under the very unusual circum-
stances the operation of the factory was hardly an operation of nor-
mal times, where an income has to be earned on the investment.
Senator Nelson. Of course they expected to operate all the rail-
roads— this government ?
Mr. Huntington. Seventy per cent of the total mileage has
always been operated by the govermnent in Russia.
Senator Nelson. They have been operated by the government, so
that the transition was not so great ?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir.
. Senator Nelson. But what did they propose to do after they had
seized the lands and taken possession of them? How did they pro-
pose to utilize those lands, and what show did they propose to give
the peasants ?
' Mr. Huntington. In the first place, they nationalized the land.
It became the property of the state ; and whereas there has not been
time in such an enormous place as Russia to work all these things
out, in general they gave immediate order to the peasants to take the
land of the contiguous estates of the landholders. There was not
much order about that, and that has resulted in difficulty; but they
were going on this simple plan, to take the land and then divide it
up amongst themselves.
Senator Nelson. When the peasants divided the land up, were they
to get title to their little patches of land ?
Mr. Huntington. Oh, no, sir; because the land is nationalized.
It belongs to the state.
Senator Nelson. They were simply to cultivate it as a species of
tenants ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir.
Maj. Humes. In that connection, a paragraph from the Soviet Re-
public constitution might be of interest as to its provisions on that
subject. [Reading:]
For the purpose of realizing the principle of the socialization of land, private
ownership in land is abolished and the entire land fund is declared the property
of the people and Is turned over to the toilers without any indemnity upon the
I>rinciple of equalization of Innd-allotments.
And again:
All forests, mineral wealth, water power and waterways of public importance,
as well as all live stock and agricultural implements, all model landed estates
and agricultural enterprises are declared national property.
60 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
As a first step to the complete transfer of factories, mills, miues, railroads
and other means of production and transportation into property of the Workers'
and Pensants' Soviet Republic, the law ((iiicoTiiini; the workers' control and
concerning the Supreme Council for National Economy, which aims at securing
the power of the tollers over the exploiters, is hereby confirmed.
Senator Xelsox. That is ^erv good. That ought to go into the
record, if it is not in already.
Maj. HyjiEs. There are just two or three more sentences covering
that subject. [Continuing reading:]
The 3rd Convention of the Soviets considers tlie Soviet law concerning the
annulling (repudiation) of loans contracted by the governments of the Tzar,
the landlords and the capitalists, as the first blow at international banking
and financial capital and expresses the conviction that the Soviet government
will advance steadfastly along this path until complete vieti>ry of the interna-
tional workers against the yoke of capitalism is secured.
The principle of the transfer of all banks to the property of the workers' and
peasants' state, as one of the conditions of emancipation of the toiling masses
from the yoke of capital, is hereby reaffirmed.
For the purpose of doing away with parasitical elements in society and of
organizing the economic affairs of the country, universal obligatory labor
service is established.
In order to secure full power for the toiling masses and to. remove every
opportunity for reestablishin'g the government of the exploiters, the principle
of arming the toilers, of forming a Socialist Red Army of the workers and
peasants, and of completely dLsarming the ijroperty-holdiug classes is hereby
decreed.
Senator Oveemax. Proceed, Doctor.
Mr. HuxTiNGTON. Eeturning to the Senator's question about the
factories, I would like to complete that by saying that whereas the
first phase was the workmen's control, wliereby a committee was
formed in each factory to take charge of that factory, the second
phase was later introduced by nationalizing of the factories, just in
the same manner as the land has been nationalized. In other words,
whereas in the first place theoretically the factory was not imme-
diately taken out of the hands of the owner, but was to be turned
over to the control of his workmen, by the decree of nationalization
the factory passed from the ownership of the former owner into th«
ownership of the State.
Senator Nelson. To be operated by the workmen?
Mr. Huntington. To be operated under what was called the Su-
preme Council of National Economy. That introduced practical
difficulties again, since that factory was then to be operated theoreti-
cally as one of a chain, one of a system, and that produced friction
and quarrels between separate factories, practically, for the reason,
of course, that some factories were better provided with the raw ma-
terials than others, and in a system of distribution whereby each was
to receive a fair part would have to give up, if they were better
provided, perhaps, some of the materials which they had, which
would stop their production earlier. The great fact in all the in-
dustry there is, of course, that it is not running at the present time,
unless you want to say that a few machines, or one isolated factory,
or something of that kind, is running; but it is, on the whole,, not
running, for the very good reason that there are no raw materials
present to work on, neither iron, coal, petroleum, nor cotton; and
cotton spinning and cotton weaving is the chief industry in Russia,
the biggest one in Russia aside frm farming.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. &1
Senator Nelson. Here is a matter that occurs to me. After the^
have succeeded in nationalizing all the land and all the industries,
in other words, taking it over by the Government and operating it
by the Government, what is their scheme of taxation for securing
revenue to run the Government, and who is to pay the tayxes?
Mr. Huntington. That is not clear to me in theory, and in practice
there was no system of taxation put through. The only taxation that
I have seen was in the matter of contributions levied on the capi-
talist class. Take this instance. In the newspapers of Omsk, in
Siberia, which I have seen, and of which I have copies, there ap-
peared a list of the men or firms in the town who were to pay 25,000
or 50,000 or 100,000 roubles, or whatever it may be. The agency of
the International Harvester Co., when our train passed through
Novo-Nikolaevsk (in Siberia) in March had just been called upon to
pay a fine, I think, of 35,000 rubles, and I Avas asked, as an em-
bassy representative, at that time to send a telegram to the local
soviet pointing out that this was an American concern and should
not be asked to pay this fine.
Apart from the contributions, their revenue system is chiefly the
printing press.
Senator Nelson. You mean printing bills and bonds?
Mr. Huntington. Printing paper money, yes; and when the ob-
jection is raised to that that they have long since passed any gold
reserve, the answer is simply that since the land is now nationalized,
all of Russia belongs to the Russian Government, and all of Russia is
certainly worth all the paper that has been issued up to this time.
Senator Nelson. Yes; but you spoke about collecting the taxes.
After they have been divested of all their property, and it has all
been condemned and taken over by the State, there are no more
capitalists. There can not be any more taxes, can there?
Mr. Huntington. There will not be now; but there were at that
time. At that time they did not take a man's bank account from him.
They forbade him access to his bank account, but his account re-
mained on the books, supposedly, of the bank. They could force
him to sign a check against that account. They could also force
people who had no bank account to dig up cash. I personally lived
in Siberia, in Irkutsk, with a former merchant who had such a con-
tribution levied on him, and who borrowed the money from his
friends to pay it. He did so against the advice of many Russians,
and against our advice, because we thought that he would be asked
for a second contribution — that he would be askecl a second time ; but
he actually went out and borrowed the money from his friends who
had it put away in chimneypieces and stockings, or under mattresses —
who had been able to save it, in other words — in order to avoid
being sent to prison, which was the alternative.
Senator Wolcott. You say that in defense of their printing-press
money they say that the State owns the land and that Russia is worth
as miich money as has been issued. That is their answer ?
Mr. Huntington. That is one of their answers.
Senator Wolcott. Do you know whether anjj^body eVer suggested
to them that that is rather insecure, because if the paper money is
issued and is in sight to be collected, the fellow that gets the land
will have it taken away from him again? Is there any answer to
that, that you have heard ?
6^ BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Huntington. Oh, they have an answer for almost anything.
Senator WoLCOTT. It would be a curious one, to that.
Mr. Huntington. Most of the answers are curious, from a normal
man's view. The thought, processes of those people are not in the
usual grooves.
About conditions, may I speak as to conditions as they exist there
now, as I saw them before I left
Senator Overman. That is what we want to hear.
Mr. Huntington (continuing). And what they have become since.
I beg permission to read here, because I have been so often asked
whether there has been starvation in the cities of Russia, three letters
written by a woman who was formerly a clerk, a translator in the
American Embassy, and written to a friend of her's in this country.
The letters are dated September 16, 20, and 23.
Senator Wolcott. Of what year ?
Mr. Huntington. Nineteen eighteen. That is, they are only a
few months old. The first letter I will quote from is as follows. The
original is in the hands of the young man to whom it was written.
It is dated September 16, 1918. "^[Reading:]
I am glad you are not here just now; living conditions are awfully hard.
Have you ever seen people dying on the street? I did, three times, twice it was
men, workmen apparently, once an old woman. One man fell down in the
Furshtadtskaya, the other on the Liteinye, when I walked home from the office
last Sunday. Maybe it was from cholera, maybe from starvation. The woman
died on the Ussacheff Pereoulck. She was sitting quite a while on the pave-
ment, then quietly laid down. Nobody paid any attention to her. Later on a
Red Cross car carried her away. But horses are not removed, when they die
on the streets they just lie there for weeks, and hungry dogs tear their bodies
to pieces.
I don't think the people died from cholera, they were not sick, just horribly
thin and pale. It's awfully hard ; I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen
it myself. These three cases Illustrate to you the conditions of Petrograd better
than descriptions. People are dying quietly, horribly quietly, without any groan
or curse, poor helpless creatures, slaves of the terrible rgglme of to-day. I
think that's really the only thing the Russian people can do well.
Altogether Petrograd is a dead town now. People are very, very few, nearly
no " eats." Trams are half empty, half of the shops are closed. Heaps of
offices opened, " Commission offices " as they call themselves, buying and selling
furniture, tableware, linen, articles of luxury, etc., of people who leave the
country or who just sell everything they possess so as not to starve. Most
precious, vulgar, or intimate things of housekeeping are sold publicly. It's
sometimes comical, most times most sad and shocking. There seems to be
nothing precious any more in families, everything is to be bought.
You cannot imagine what is going on in this country. Everything what is
cultured, wealthy, accomplished or educated is being prosecuted and systemati-
cally destroyed. But you know it all through papers, don't you? We all here
live under a perpetual strain under fear of arrest and execution. Yesterday
bulletins appeared on corners of all streets announcing that the allies and the
bourgeoisie have spread cholera and hunger all over Russia and calling to open
slaughter of the latter.
Do you remember the little market on the Basseinaja where they used to sell
food stufE? It is now transferred into a place where people of society sell all
their belongings, overcoats, furs, shoes, kitchenware, table and bed linen, etc. ;
they sell everything right on the streets. The food question is terribly acute.
Petrograd lives on herrings and apples. Yes, also on " vobla." That is fish,
dried in the sun. The size of it is about the same as of a small herring's, and
it smells horribly. But it can be eaten when properly soaked and boiled. We
always used to know " vobla " as a swearword. But now I know that it is a
flsh, and eatable.
You know, Stranger, people here are starving in accordance with four cater
gories. The first category (workmen) get i pound of bread every two -days.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 63
i. e., J of a pound a day, and two herrings ; 2 category workmen who do easy
work, get i pound of bread every two days, and two herrings. The tliird cate-
gory, people who " drink other people's blood and exploit other people's work,"
i. e., people who live on mental work, (sic!) get two herrings every two days,
and no bread, and the fourth category (not mentioned on the inclosed slip)
also people who " drink, etc." get nothing at all, sometimes two herrings. I in-
Close a slip from our official paper, which mentions these four categories. The
paper is called " Severanaja Communa " (The Northern Commune). People
may, of course buy food besides the food they get from cooperative stores,
mentioned above, and which is at a reasonable price (if a herring a day and
iw lb. of bread can be. called food) but the prices are enormous. One lb. of
black bread costs Rs. 15.
I should say we get more rubles for a dollar in Kussia than you
can get in New York. We paid 10 cents for a ruble up to the time
of leaving, which was therefore 10 rubles to the dollar, and I shall
divide the ruble prices and give you the prices immediately in gold.
[Continuing reading:]
One lb. of black bread costs $1.50, 1 lb. of white flour Rs. 17 to 20, black
flour $1.10 to $1.20. Potatoes cost 32 to 38 cents a lb., butter $2, and so on
Do you remember the big store on the corner of Snamenskaja and Kirochnaja,
where soldiers used to live and where there were once on the windows heaps ot
rotten potatoes? The shop is now occupied by a commissioner's office, who
sells everything in the world, and on the corner there is quite a little market,
consisting of ladies and children of society, who sell lumps of sugar at Rs. 1.20
apiece and thin slices of black bread, I don't know at what price.
I, myself, have seen this, on August 28, 1918. [Continuing read-
ing:]
And this year Russia has unusually good crops ! People who have a little
bit of money left, run away from Russia. They sell everything they possess
and just run. They go mainly to the Baltic provinces and to Ukrainia. And
you know, its the German consulate there who helps them to get permits and
"tickets. I don't know how the Germans manage to do it, but I know for sure
that they do. They do it also very willingly if people get them good money
in exchange of their Kerenki, which they have heaps.
That is, the money of the old regime, of the Czar, in exchange for
the kerenki. Kerenki is the little money that was brought out at
the time of the Kerensky government, in denominations of 20 and 40
rubles, and which is about the size of my finger, and which is not
pretty, and which is often looked down upon by the people ; and they
prefer the fine looking bills of the former day.
Here is another letter. [Reading:]
We have four new decrees now. The first concerns the loding question ; the
second, forced hard labor for the bourgeoisie; the third, requisition of warm
clothes for the Bed Army, and the fourth concerns distribution of food.
First about lodgings. Comrade ZinoviefE, little Jew Apfelbaum, on a meet-
ing of the Soldiers' and Workmen's deputies said, that "the bourgeoisie has
not been enough ' reduced to beggary ' yet ; that they still have to give back
what they have acquired by way of exploiting of oppressions, by way of blood
and sweat of the workman. They have now to give their comfortable lodgings
and furniture. The war has temporarily diverted the attention of the Soviet
power from this point, which can as well be pressed on the bourgeoisie. They
still have much. The best houses, the best apartments and shops belong to
them. It is time to put an end to it. The workmen, in spite of the decree, still
show fear, indecisiveness. Socialism is not carried through in this way.
Further, the speaker refers to Engles and other Socialists and Paris com-
muneers who discussed the lodging question. "The workmen must come up
from their caves into the upper floors. Half measures must not be tolerated.
The workmen must take the initiative themselves, they must abandon their
psychology of slaves, that in rich houses, not filled up by workmen they will
feel uncomfortable. We do not want Nevsky, this street of prostitutes, we want
64 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Kamenoostrovsky, Vassily, Ostroff, etc. Workmen had enough courage, to go on
the barricades, to stand against imperialistic bayonets, to .break down the im-
perialistic power, but to put their own lives and the lives" of tlieir J;amilies in
better conditions they are iifraid. If they will need money or means of
transportation they will get them. If a milliard will }}e needed — the Soviet
will give it. The lack of courage still proves that a little of a counterrevolu-
tioneer still sticks in our souls and shows resistance. Wdrljmen still .consider
themselves the fourth class, while they are the first now since a long time. And
soon the time will come now, that they will be the first in the whole world."
Referring to reasons why workmen themselves hesitate to'' socialize the
lodgings. Comrade Zinovieff gives one of them as fear of, workmen families
to be sent back to their old lodgings by the " White Guard," i. e., allies, bour-
geoisie, etc. " But the proletariat should be quiet in this" respect," he says,
" if the White Guard comes. They will send away hundreds of thousands, a
whole million, maybe, but not to their former lodgings, but to the other world.
But this will never be. Their hands are too short. It is nearly a wjiole year
now since the proletariat holds the power in its hands, and this power grows ;
gets more and more strong. The women of the working class- must kno>>?' that
during the French revolution laundry women understood that they had the
right to travel in royal carriages. They took them and travelled. The diffi-
culties are now behind us. We are the ruling class. We will" show the bour-
geoisie that the revolution has been carried through for the sake of realistic
advantages, and everything that formerly belonged to the class of the oppressors
will now be taken by the people."
He further refers to the example given by the Red Giiard. They showed
that they knew how to treat the belongings of the tyrants and oppressors.
"After Nikolai Romanoff has been executed," he continues, " about 600 suits of
linen have been taken by the Red Guard. And they proved that they could
wear them not any worse than their former owner."
Maj. HuJiES. Doctor, you have had attention called in that letter
to people dying in the streets of Petrograd. What, of your own
knowledge, do you know about the actual conditions, the living condi-
tions and the terrorism in Russia, and the means that are used by
the Government to maintain itself?
Mr. HuNTixGTON. Of my own knowledge I know the conditions
in Moscow during the last few months, where I lived in the consulate
general, and I not only had my own observation, but was at the
center, where all the representatives of the consulates placed in dif-
ferent parts of the country sent their reports.
I have been on two visits to Petrograd, one in June and another
when we passed out in August. I have been over the entire trans-
Siberian line from Petrograd to Irkutsk, east. I have lived in
Irkutsk for two months, and participated in the life of the town as
much as anyone would who came into the town. I have dealt with and
seen people in the town, school-teachers, merchants.; dealt with the
Soviets in business matters, on cases of American goods; have been
at the railway stations and have seen the Austro-BLxingarian armed
guards, who were armed to fight also for the social revolution, and
had been made citizens of this soviet republic ; I have talked to rail-
road men, to station masters, to self-made men, to farmers, to peas-
ants; I have been in the
Maj. HujiES. '\'\Tiat have you seen in all this experience with
reference to terrorism and the conduct and practical application of
the policies of the Bolshevist regime?
Mr. Huntington. I have seen the complete overturn of all we
know in our present life, and absolute chaos in all htiman relations.
Maj. Httmes. How is the control maintained? Is it maintained
because the people are with the Bolshevist government, or is it main-
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 65
tained through terrorizing the people, or in what mani. ^^^|o they
maintain themselves?
Mr. Huntington. It is maintained absolutely by terror. They
gained that power by a sudden coup d'etat in Petrograd and Moscow,
by promises to a people who had been duly prepared by eight months
of propaganda, for which Germany had contributed large sums.
They were able to produce the coup d'etat bj'^ the use of soldiers in
the capital, and by promising to the crowds peace, land, and bread.
They maintain their power by owning the machine guns and the
arms, and getting control of those which they did not have in the
beginning; by the use of terror; by the use of taking hostages; by
the use of any unsci-upulous methods which, as you have seen by what
I have read, they do not denj^, but justify, and by the help of mer-
cenaries like the Letts from the Baltic Provinces, and Chinese
soldiers, such as they embrace out in Siberia, and out in Siberia in
one case where they interested Austro-Hungarian soldiers, as in the
case of the trainload armed, which I saw, and which were being sent
out to fight.
Their present armj^ to-day consists of a corps of Lettish merce-
naries and Chinese mercenaries, to which they have added, by i
threats — threats perS'onally as to themselves and as to their wives and
children — citizens who no doubt serve only because of fear of what
will be done by the Bolshevik government to their families, and also
because by serving they secure food and clothing.
Their present armies are formed in this way. They are not formed
of enthusiastic people fighting for a great cause, but they are formed
of desperate people who hope by service in the army to be clothed
and fed.
Maj. Humes. You have referred to this government as a social-
istic state. Are we to understand from that that the Government, as
now constituted, represents the socialist movement of the socialist
elements of Russia, or does it simply represent one party or one ele-
ment of the socialist movement in Russia?
Mr. Huntington. It represents only one group of the socialists
of Russia ; and to show that, I need only say that in the constituent
assembly which was finally held in Petrograd and sat — 'at least pre-
pared one day and sat for a second day — and where I was present,
by having been allowed in there by sailor guards who were posted at
the street corners, in that assembly they had a large majority against
them, and they disbanded the assembly because of that fact, and the
large majority of that whole gathering were socialists, socialists
by conviction, chiefly of the so-called social revolutionary party, the
party of the peasant socialists. I think that that constituent _as-
semblv, which so far as I know is the last really democratic meeting
that has been held in Russia, is a sufficient answer to that question.
I can also cite, however, the treatment of such great groups of
socialists — although these are not political groups — as the coopera-
tive societies who are formed chiefly of socialists. These societies
find themselves in strong oppostion to the Bolshevik power, but are
forced to o-o on with it. For a long time the Bolshevik power feared
to touch their organization, because it was democratic, and reaches
the hearts and pocketbooks of the people pretty closely ; but lately
they have gained courage in that regard, and they have put a com-
85723—19 5
66 BOLSHEVIK PBOPAGANDA.
missarf?t^°Jie organization of the largest cooperative in central Rus-
sia and they have also taken over the bank of the cooperative socie-
ties— the stockholders of which are peasants — and have their mem-
bers among the directors of that bank.
Maj. Humes. Have you any idea what portion of the socialist
movement in Russia is represented in the present government 'i
Mr. Huntington. When the Bolshevik movement began, because
of the economic disintegration, because of the anarchy of mind of
a people held in political oppression, and with no education, because
of the sins of the old regime, they had a considerable vogue, without
question, in Petrograd and Moscow, and extended a sort of power —
not perfect power, but a sort of power — even out into Siberia. I have
seen that. But as time went on and they did not fulfill their prom-
ises, they did not get peace and did not get bread, and the distribu-
tion of land only caused trouble and friction among the peasants. I
have seen late advices from the land, not from the state owners, that
peasants in many parts of the country are now wishing to pay for
the land, and hesitating to plow the land which they took, because
they feel they would like to pay for it, because they have lots of
paper money and would like to pay for it and clear the title.
When they promised peace, land and bread, and did not get
any of them, they began to lose adherents; and they lost, first, the
peasants, because the peasants in Russia, who form 85 per cent of
that great population, who are not nationally minded, whose education
and form of environment have been very local, and who did not
take a lively interest as a mass in any movement whose chief motive
was to get land — when those peasants had got the land, as they
thought, they were out of the game.
They were further driven out of the game by the requisitions of
food by the Bolsheviks. When our train was lying at one point in
eastern Russia in February, 1918, where we lay for several days, the
Red Guards arrived with machine guns and sent telegrams through
the telegraph office in the station, and I was able to read these tele-
grams. Through these telegrams the leader of these Red Guards
reported that he had sent his command out into the country among
the peasants and that he had been defeated, and he asked in one of
his telegrams for reinforcements. Further, while certain of our party
were drinking tea in the house of a prosperous peasant, the house was
surrounded by Red Guards composed of the riffraff of the village. It
is this " peasant poor " that Lenine incited to civil war against their
better-off brother peasants.
I cite that merely as a case in point, showing how they have sent
squads into the country demanding food, and the peasants ask them to
give in exchange for the food manufactured articles instead of money,
of which they have plenty, and which is useless to them; they ask
for shoes and cloth and other articles, and the Bolsheviks refuse to
give these articles to the peasants, and when the peasants refuse to
sell them food they take it by force, and that only causes the peasants
to hide what they have, and in certain cases, where they have arms,
to fight. They have lost, therefore, the confidence of the peasants,
and the peasants form 85 per cent of the Russian people. Therefore,
I can not see how they can claim to-day politically to control the
peasants.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 67
Now, as to the workmen, we have the best of advice now that they
have lost most of them. The workmen of Eussia are about 7 per
cent, or perhaps it is 8 — about 7 or 8 per cent, I think — in the great
cities, chiefly. These men have neither food nor peace. They
are having almost continuous warfare ever since the peace with
Germany, and they are not satisfied, either; and they are not to
be reckoned to-day as adherents of the Bolshevik regime, although
that regime claims them most vociferously, and in order to secure
their support has taken from the factories certain of the elite or
pick of the workmen and made them commisars. That has not,
however, been enough under the conditions, under their economic
failure, to realize the paradise which they promised, and hold the
workmen. Therefore, I feel that if the peasants are 85 per cent and
the workmen are 7 per cent, that makes 92 per cent, and if they
can not be said to have those two — not to speak of the higher classes,
which I do not mention in this connection at all— I can not feel that
they have to-day a very large following in Russia.
(At 1.10 o'clock p. m. the subcommittee took a recess until 2.30
o'clock p. m.)
AFTERNOON SESSION.
.The subcommittee reconvened, pursua,nt to .thfe^4;aking of the recess,
at 2.30 o'clock p. m. *- "
TESTIMONY OF MR. WILLIAM CHAPIN HUNTINGTON— Resumed.
Maj. Humes. Doctor, this morning you gave us some idea of the
comparative strength and following of the various parties in Eussia,
which indicated that the present Government represented less than
10 per cent of the people. Now, if that is true, how do they main-
tain their power or maintain the de facto government?
Mr. Huntington. In the first place, they have the machine guns.
They have got the arms.
Maj. Humes. How do they use the machine guns? Where have
they got them and how do they use them, and what do they use
them for?
Mr. Huntington. The machine gun is the weapon, par excellence,
for use in towns, on the roads, and for use in the country villages
if there is a peasant uprising; and also for obtaining grain; and
they have not only the machine guns, but the transport. It was due
also to the presence of German officers that they have more than once
won.
They also have the press, because for several months now there
has been no liberty for the press in Eussia. They do not permit any
of the so-called bourgeois papers, which were formerly published, to
come out.
Maj. Humes. Do they permit any socialist papers of other groups
than their own groups to publish papers?
Mr. Huntington. No; there are none except the official organs
of the so-called Soviet Government published at this time in bol-
shevik Eussia. Having the press, having the arms, and then having
the railway lines, although the railway men themselves, particularly
68 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
the higher classes, the locomotive engineers, the conductors, and fire-
men and station masters, are not for them, they are able to control
the country pretty well. They have, of course, the telegraph.
Maj. Humes. Do hostages figure at all in their control?
Mr. Huntington. The hostage system which they use is the same
as the German system. They take hostages for the actions of some
one whom they vvish to control. The father of a young girl who was
my secretary, an Englishman who had lived in Russia for many
years, was walking one night, smoldng a cigar, in the garden of the
Church of the Saviour. He was arrested, with every one else in the
garden, and taken off. They found out about it by chance; other-
wise thej^ would not have known. The girls went to the Kremlin;
where they found out that he had been taken, and asked for what
he had been arrested, and were jeered at, and told that he had
already been executed. They proceeded and saw the second highest
man, and he told them that there was not anything to be done about
it; that he did not know anything about their father, and his case
would come up when the time came. The other men in the office
told them that their father had been killed.
They were then told that one of the Red Cross representatives was
the only one that would be allowed to find out anything about him,
and see him, so that one of the Red Cross representatives went, at
my request, to find out about this unfortunate man, against whom
there is no accusation whatever, or any charge brought, and he
spoke to the assistant to Peters, who received him kindly and said.
" Yes; I will do the best I can, and I will make a note of it, but I
do not know just what I can do. I have to put so many people to
death every day that I am tired at night." That is one of the meth-
ods which is used.
Another method is the brandishing of force before one. In
Irkutsk, in Siberia, where T lived, there was daily machine-gun
practice, so called, in a little vard on one of the main streets, so
that as the passers-by passed down the street they might hear the
noise and rattle of the machine guns; which for people who had
just been through the social revolution as they had, was, of course,
a little bit annoying, and tended to keep people on edge. The
Peter and Paul Prison in Petrograd was filled with hostages of
this kind. The system was quite universal. That was another part
of the terror. They never have denied the terror. You heard this
morning the official proclamation read, in which they are instructed
to do this very thing, and they do not deny these methods. They
justify them.
Maj. Humes. "^'^Tiat is the attitude of the Government, as it is con-
stituted, toward the church ?
Mr. Huntington. The attitude in practice is very hostile. In
theory it is neutral. In theory, the church is a cult, recognized as a
cult of people who have the right of congregation like any sect or
cult, and this sect or cult occupies a church building nationalized by
the Government — because of course the church properties are na-
tionalized, as is other property — and they can meet in this church, and
I believe, are supposed to pay rent. I do not know whether the rent
has been paid or not. That is the theoretical status. Theoreticallv, I
think, any religion, any cult, is tolerated. In practice the attitude is
BOI^HEVIK PBOPAGANDA. 69
one of extreme hostility, if only for the reason that the leaders of the
movement are, of course, very much opposed to orthodox Chris-
tianity.
Senator Wolcott. Are they in favor of any particular religion?
Mr. Huntington. Not the leaders of this movement themselves;
no, sir. The leaders of the movement, I should say, are about two-
thirds Russian Jews and perhaps one-sixth or more of some of the
othemationalities, like the Letts or the Armenians. The assistant in
the foreign office was an Armenian. Then there are the Georgians;
that is, the so-called Gruzinians of the Caucasus, and the remaining
number Slavs. The superiority of the Jews is due to their intel-
lectual superiority, because the average Jew is so much better edu-
cated than the average Russian; and also, I think, to the fact that
the Hebrew people have suffered so in the past in Russia that it has
inevitably resulted in their cherishing a grudge which has been
worked out by the movement.
It is only fair, however, to say that the best of the Hebrew people
in Russia, among whom are some of the finest in the world, and
the greatest strugglers for human liberty in the world, have dis-
approved of this thing and have always disapproved it, and fear
its consequences for their own people.
Senator Overman. What was the established religion there?
Mr. Huntington. The so-called Eastern Orthodox Church, which
came from the church of Constantinople in the ninth century. Mis-
sionaries were sent out from Constantinople who converted Russia,
and it has gone on ever since.
Senator Wolcott. Commonly called the Greek Church?
Mr. Huntington. Commonly called the Greek Church, which
separated from the Roman Church at the time of the schism, and
it has gone on its own way ever since.
Maj. Humes. I want to read this from paragraph 13, page 32, of
the Soviet constitution :
For the purpose of securing for the toilers real freedom of conscience, the
church is separated from the state, and the school from the church, and the
freedom of religious and antlreligious propaganda is secured for all citizens.
What became of the church property in Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. Theoretically, the status of the property is that
of nationalization. Practically, where it was needed as they thought
for any purpose that they might have, it was taken over, which in
the eyes of the pious was, of course, desecration.
In Irkutsk the theological seminary was taken over, and they
could not rest with taking the ordinarj' rooms, but they desecrated
the chapel.
In the Kremlin there was an old monastery very much revered
amono- Russians, an ancient citadel, and from that the monks were
expelled.
Priests have often been arrested. Sometimes they have been put
to death.
The persecution is constant. It is, however, I think, having a
salutary effect on the church, which from being a spoiled creature
of the state in former times is now, under suffering, reforming and
being cleansed; but the sufferings of the people and the church-
o'oers are very great. In the end the church will be strengthened.
70 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Maj. Htjmes. What was done with the personal pi'operty of the
church, gold and silver ornaments, or anything of value, of a per-
sonal nature ?
Mr. Huntington. You probably i*efer to the altar, the sanctuary
ornaments, I imagine. There there were cases of looting, but how
general I do not know. I know of specific cases which have come up
before us, but I do not know how general that looting has been.
Maj. HuJiES. There has been, you say, in particular instances that
you know of?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir.
Maj. Humes. You stated this morning that you had 'attended
meetings of the Soviets in the constituent assembly. How was the
constituent assembly conducted? Was it a representative body that
controlled its own deliberations or was it controlled by some one else ?
Mr. Huntington. The constituent assembly was a bone of conten-
tion in Russia for a long time. Sometimes the Bolsheviks claimed to
want it very much, and other times they did not. The constituent
assembly, of course, as you all know, is supposed to be representative
of the entire nation, and was to decide the constitution of the future
Eussia. It was elected in a time of stress. It was elected even at a
time when there was great Bolshevik influence. But in spite of that
it turned a large majority against the Bolsheviks. When it was
finally allowed to meet, about which there was considerable discus-
sion, it had the majority against the Bolsheviks, and it lasted two
days. On the second day the sailors appeared in the gallery with
machine guns and told the deputies to go home, and they went home.
I speak from knowledge, having been in the assembly.
Maj. Humes. The sailors side with the Bolsheviks, do they?
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir; the sailors were Bolsheviks, and they
were very often used by the Bolsheviks because they were better
educated than the ordinary soldiers, and they were very fierce at that
time. They were amongst some of the hardest of such people that I
have ever known.
Senator Overman. How are the Cossacks? How are their feel-
ings?
Mr. Huntington. The Cossacks were the former frontiersmen of
Eussia, and they had special charters under old Eussia, and lands
would be granted to them, and that has affected somewhat their atti-
tude toward Bolshevism, because they did not want to have their
lands taken away from them. The Bolsheviks have sometimes made
concessions or made it appear that they did not want to take the Cos-
sacks' lands ; that is, they were making a special case of them. They
did at the time win some of the Cossacks, but the main body of them,
so far as we could see, they have never won. There are people in
Cossack Eussia, however, who have been in the Bolshevik movement.
The sailors have been complained of so much that it may not be
amiss to say, in speaking of their ferocity, which is not sentimental
or joking but a fact, that I stood one day on the quay, the bank
of the river Neva, in the building occupied by the National City
Bank, and looked out of the office and had pointed out to me by the
manager of the bank a spot on the street in front, which was red —
a dried-up pool — and he told me that it was blood, and that he and
his assistant had stood in the window of the bank that morning and
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 71
a squad of sailors had marched along the street, which ifuns along
the river front, and walking along on the walk had been,' a man in
an officer's coat, who was walking along by himself, empty handed,
and that before they came opposite to this man one of them raised
his musket and shot the officer on the spot, and he was left there,
and the march of the men was not even stopped to see whether the
job had been done or not. Afterwards he was picked up.
Senator Wolcott. He was an officer in the Navy ?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir; an army officer.
Senator Wolcott. An army officer?
Mr. Huntington. Of what grade I do not know. They were not
wearing epaulettes then, and you could not tell from the coat; only
from the cap you could tell that he was an officer.
Maj. Humes. You have cited one instance of the father of a clerk
of yours who was arrested and executed. Are you familiar with any
other instances of similar conduct on the part of the government
authorities ?
Mr. Huntington. I am sorry if I have given the impression that
I said he was executed. I do not know whether he has yet been
executed or not. He was in prison up to the latest advices which we
had, up to a month or so ago.
Senator Wolcott. I understood you to say that this man told the
daughters that he had been killed.
Mr. Huntington. They told them that, presumably to terrorize
and scare those girls.
Senator Wolcott. And the daughters learned afterwards that he
had not been killed?
Mr. Huntington. So far as we could find out. No one ever got
inside to see. They admitted no one. In this case they did not even
admit the Ked Cross to see this man, although they said they would.
They did admit the Ked Cross to some prisons. People were con-
fined in there whom nobody knew about, who people thought had fled
to other parts of the country, in Moscow, as was the case with our
own associate Mr. Simmons, who was in prison for 8 or 10 days,
although he wrote letters and sent telegrams, which went to the com-
mission, who refused to forward those letters of a supposedly friendly
consulate.
Maj. Humes. What tribunal imposes the death penalty and causes
the execution? *
Mr. Huntington. The so-called extraordinary committee for
combatting the counter-revolution. That is headed in Moscow by
a man who has become famous as Peters, a Lett from the Baltic
Provinces, who speaks English and is an educated man, and is one
of the most cruel and fanatic men connected with the entire move-
ment.
Maj. Humes. What does this committee consist of ? Does it consist
of one man or more than one man ? How is it organized ?
Mr. Huntington. I can not tell what the system is of selecting
the people who sit on it.
Maj. "Humes. Do they pretend to try persons who are accused, or
is it a summary proceeding?
Mr. Huntington. I think there is a pretense of trial, but nobody
knows anything about it, and they do not have to show any record
or any reason to the -outside world.
72 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Maj. Humes. The trials are not public, then, if there are trials?
Mr. Hui^TTNGTON. I do not know of any o'f those trials being pub-
lic. Ther^ have been trials before a revolutionary tribunal which
have been public, but that was in an earlier day, such as the trial of
the woman who was the minister of public welfare under the Keren-
sky government. But since the establishment of the extraordinary
commission, I do not Imow of any such trial. There are replicas of
this extraordinarj' commission in other places. There is one in Petro-
grad. They are made up, usually, from amongst the most fanatical
and fiercest of, the local terrorists.
Maj. Humes. Do you know how many serve on this commission?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir ; I can not tell you.
Maj. Humes. I think this morning you were just getting ready to
take up the economic situation in Russia.. Will you go ahead and
state to the committee the economic conditions there ?
Mr. Huntington. The situation has two aspects, as it seems to me.
It has the moral aspect and the economic aspect. I mean moral in
the broad sense, of all morality; not sex morality, of course, which
is the frequent narrow use of the word here.
The moral aspect has rather been touched upon by the description
of the terror — of the actual cases, many of which can be cited. I never
have personally had any great interest in telling thrilling stories to
make people's nerves tingle. There are .plenty of stories, and you
may hear others, and I think the case is sufficiently put by the state-
ment of the Bolshevik Government, in which they do not deny the
use of terror, but justify it. The moral side is one side.
The other side is the economic side. In other words, has the move-
ment succeeded in bringing about any kind of an economic prosper-
ity ? I do not mean a paradise, or anything like it. To that I can only
answer most decidedly no ; that there is a complete chaos in Russia ;
that there is as near to anarchy as there could be and anything go on
at all ; that the center of the whole thing is really the railroad system,
which is conducted out of previous habits of good order, and because
there is the need of living by the railroad men themselves, who, I
might say, deserve great credit for this, in my opinion. That serves
to connect the various parts and keeps, to a certain degree, things
going. The railroad transportation is slowly declining, day by day.
When we passed out through Siberia and passed back again the side-
tracks at the stations were filled with locomo'tives, some of them
American, all rusty, with parts missing, with perhaps a connecting
rod off, or a throttle taken off, or a cab boarded up, every one of them
lacking this or that or the other part. Engines had broken down, and
they had taken this or that or the other part off of one of these en-
gines to make repairs. The rolling stock wears out day by day, and
there is no repair shop, and the repairs can not be executed for lack
of material and because the labor conditions are so unfortunate.
The production in any factories that have material has dropped off^
very greatly, in enormous percentages, anywhere from 500 to 1,000
per cent. There is lack of discipline in the factories and there is lack
of food.
Senator Wolcott. What do you mean by 1,000 per cent?
Mr. Huntington. I mean 10 times, sir; 10 times 100 per cent.
There is lack of food.
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 73
Senator Wolcott. Just what do you mean?
Mr. Huntington. I mean that a factory, for instance, that might
make formerly 10 locomotives a month now makes 1; such as the
Kolomensky works. The cotton factories are closed down. There
was next to no cotton raised in Turkestan this last year on account of
the disturbances.
Senator Overman. Heretofore they have been spinning all their
own yarn and not importing it. The cotton they use comes from
where ?
Mr. Huntington. Oh, about one-half of it from outside, from
Egypt and from us — it did come — and about one-half from them-
selves, as I remember it. They produced a great part, the principal
part, of their own needs in cotton goods, and they have some very,
very large factories for this purpose, founded by Englishmen. A
German began the movement, but brought over English foremen and
superintendents, and their successors remain there still, to this day — ■
or did.
There is in the factories not only the lack of discipline and chaos
in the administration, except where there has been effected a sort of
agreement between the men and the foreman-proprietor, who gives
his brains to the running of the factory, which has sometimes oc-
curred, but there is hunger. A factory inspector of the Young
Women's Christian Association, who visited practically every fac-
tory in Moscow, and whose report I have read, says that in many
cases there was lack of work because there was lack of food, in addi-
tion to the other causes.
There is no banking, in the accepted sense. It is impossible to
transfer money from one town to another to^^n. If there is any pay-
ment to be made, it is paid in cash. If you want to make a payment,
you send a man, preferably, with a suitcase with the money in it. The
banks, formerly private banks, are now called departments 1, 2, 3,
and 4. of the People's Bank of the Federated Socialist Republic of
the Soviet. So that you have perhaps the Siberian bank of Petrograd
being called department No. 1, and the international bank, depart-
ment No. 2, etc. They carry on no banking business, ordinarily so-
called, except the passing out of paper money which is paid out to
factory organizations, those who are still running at all, for the pay-
ment of workmen.
Senator Overman. Did they abolish liquor while you were there —
vodka ?
Mr. HuN'i-iNGTON. That was done before I arrived.
Senator Overbian. Did they really abolish it?
Mr. Huntington. It vvas very efficacious, and for the masses there
was no liquor when I arrived in Russia. Tliei'e was liquor for people
who could get it by corrupt methods whicli have always prevailed in
Russia, ancl have never prevailed there to the extent to which they
prevail to-day. When we left Russia, passing out, although we had
the vise of the authorities of Moscow, as soon as we got to Petrograd
we were held by a commissar, who was unfortunately killed while we
were there, and he finally let us go. He said he would not recognize
the authority of the men of the foreign office in Moscow. I mention
this at this' point to show you that whereas they have a sort of
authority, the authority of their so-called government is not very
74 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
firm, and when it comes to issuing a constructive or definite restrain-
ing order they can not do it. An order to loot or to take they can get
obeyed, but many times they can not get obeyed the other orders
they issue.
We were held up, although we had our passports in order. When
we got to the border we had to pay tribute to get out of the country,
and did pay tribute to the Red Guard, who were at the border and
who hustled the baggage, and also to the official at the border who
conducted it.
Senator Overmax. Is the Eussian naturally a cruel man ?
Mr. Huntington. Xo, sir; I should say not. He is naturally a
kind man, a very easy-going man.
Senator Overman. Are they hospitable people?
Mr. Huntington. Very, under normal circumstances.
Senator Overman. Under present conditions, under this Bolshevik
movement, the very contrary is the case ?
Mr. Huntington. A peasant, for instance, who has been taught
that his landlord is his enemy — although that may not have been the
case, because many landowners were kind to the peasants — a work-
man who has been taught the creed of Lenine and Trotsky, which is
the class warfare; and which says distinctly that your employer is
your natural enemy, naturally, when he has been so taught, and he is
hungry, will strike the employer, and he may regret it a week after-
wards. On the walls of the stairway in the Metropole Hotel in
Moscow when I went in there the last time in August with two others,
in perfectly good English, undoubtedly written by Mr. Tchitcherin,
there was a copy of a poster which they were planning to launch up
on the Murman coast, for the Bri^is^i and American soldiers. This
piece was well written, and ^ ery logical, and the only trouble was
with the first statement. I can not quote it exactly, but it started in
this way :" Comrades, workmen of Great Britain and America, wliy
do you come to our shores of this workmen's republic? You liavc
nothing in common with your employer. He is your enemy. Turn
around and go home and fight him, and you will achieve hajppiness."
That is the creed, and when it is taught to simple people who are
hungry, it produces that effect. The people are, apart from that,
very kind, and easily led, easily to be had for any idea.
Senator Overman. What proportion of the people are educated?
Mr. Huntington. The estimates vary about that. The best esti-
mate I have ever seen for the army which I thought was trustworthy
was 50 per cent for the army. I have seen others higher, but I caia
not, from personal experience and contact with these men, believe
them. If we accepted 50 per cent for the army, then you would have
to figure that the army is only a portion of the population and does
not include the women, and the women have had much less oppor-
tunity than the men, and our percentage of literacy in the country
would seem to me, even with a very broad definition, certainly to be
low; would certainly not be much more than a quarter, on a very
broad definition of literacy — I mean, not asking that a man know too
much, but that he be able
Senator Overman. Do women take part in these mobs, these lynch-
ings and murders ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 75
Mr. Huntington. In mobs there have been women present. In
many murders, no, sir. I have seen the victims of murders after
they were killed, but I have' not been present. As, for instance, one
morning in the embassy news was brought of the killing of the liberal
minister of finance in the Kerensky government, Mr. Shingaryov,
who had been a little doctor in south Russia and had come up to the
Duma had learned state finances and had been one of those who
fought officials of the old regime in putting their schemes through of
getting money for the Czar's favorites. This man was arrested and
was lying in the prison of Peter and Paul with another of the Keren-
sky ministers, Kokoshkin, who was ill, and they allowed him and
another man to go to the hospital of the Liteiny Prospect. Into
that hospital one night at 11 o'clock armed men got by the guards and
got up to the room of these men and shot them in their beds as they
lay there.
That story came to the embassy on Sunday morning and was jiot
believed, and so I went, at the special request of the ambassador, to
the hospital on the Liteiny and personally passed through the crowd
and into the morgue and passed along by the marble slabs in the
morgue and stopped before the slab on which lay the body of Mr.
Shingaryov, and next to him this other man, and, knowing him per-
sonally, I readily identified his body and went back and reported.
Such things I have no desire, as I say, to tell. I have no desire to
tell thrilling stories, but of such incidents I can call to mind a good
many.
Maj. Humes. Are you familiar with any atrocities of the kind com-
mitted against women? Did you come in contact with anything of
that kind?
Mr. Huntington. No. Personally, the only atrocities that I know
of, the only mistreatment that I know of on the violent scale, I know
from the town of Irkutsk, from the actions of the guards on entering
certain houses there to loot, and who pretty roughly handled the
women, but did not kill them. I believe there are undoubtedly such
cases, but I, personally, have not seen them.
Maj. Humes. Proceed with the economic matters.
Mr. Huntington. The keynote is entire absence of production.
That is why I am mystified, sometimes, when I read accounts that
production is going on well. There must be entire lack of produc-
tion, because there is not only lack of discipline but lack of material.
The government is founded on demagogy, and therefore has not been
able to work constructively. We have tried to work with them con-
structively on a number of occasions. We tried, for instance, to feed
the city of Moscow from the Volga, and had practically a plan for
doing that under the International Red Cross when Trotsky blocked
that, because, for some reasons of his own, he feared it would react
unfavorably upon his regime. Besides the lack of real administra-
tive ability amongst these men, there is also the constant additional
difficulty that they are not interested in building, but they are inter-
ested primarily in propagating.
Propagation of their doctrines is the prime idea. The prime idea
is to get these doctrines propagated, to get the social revolution, as
they see it, throughout the world, and then do your constructing. Such
constructing as they have conducted to-day at home has been only
76 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
such as was forced on them or such as they wanted to do for the
effect on the outside world. Now they are constantly trying to evince
that their construction is a success. They are not, from a normal
man's standpoint, capable of constructive work. What constructive
work is done, is done by neutral people whom they employ on occa-
sion ; as, for instance, an engineer friend of mine in the ministry
of railways, v^'hom they appointed director of transportation. He
found it impossible to keep on with them, because when he issued
any orders that were not satisfactory to the workmen they were not
obeyed. And when he went to the soviet, which guaranteed him aid
and protection — even going so far as to say they would shoot people
who did not obey, because they were bound to put the country in
shape and Mr. Lenine said that production was what was needed —
when he went to them they were afraid of the people in his offices,
and these people appealed to demagogy and said that they would
not stand to have this or that measure put through, and the so\'iets,
of course, gave in. Having founded their power on demagogy, they
could not do otherwise. They would gladly have made use of us
and of other foreigners.
The foreigner, as a rule, has had a better chance than a Russian.
Among the foreigners theie were clever men and trained. Some of
them in Russia are some of the cleverest men in the world. The
Bolsheviks made offers of '' cooperation " to the American Embassy,
and wanted men for constructive work. This was in December, a
month after thej- had been in power, and they would promise any-
thing. They wanted to get experts from America. They knew
that the people were very badly disciplined, and they thought if we
would send special men to help them build up their new socialistic
state, they would punish workmen or peasants who would not obey
them. They were bound to have discipline and were bound to have
the work done. Unfortunately, like all the rest of it, it does not get
beyond words and the paper that it is printed on.
Senator Wolcott. According to their program, if people do not
do like they want, shoot them; if they will not work, shoot them;
if they will not work to suit them, shoot them ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; but that is all, of course, because a great
good is coming out of all this ; and the fact that a few hundred people
are killed, in their minds does not mean anything.
Senator Wolcott. Yes; of course, 'the worst tyrants that ever
lived always appealed to the ultimate good in their behalf.
Maj. Humes. What about the production of raw materials?
Mr. Huntington. As to the basic raw materials like coal, for in-
stance, European Russia is not well provided with coal, to begin
with. Coal has been in the Ukraine, and they have juggled with the
transportation and juggled the situation with the Ukraine so that
there is none coming from there.
The petroleum came from the Caucasus, but they brought about
a political situation and an industrial situation in Baku by which no
more petroleum is produced, and petroleum no longer comes up the
Volga.
As for cotton, on account of the conditions in Turkestan, where the
social war has been going on, and especially on account of the local
religions and tribes there, cotton production has been very low, so
that they have not cotton.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 77
Food there is considerable of, in various points. There was food
in the south of Russia. There is food in the north of Caucasus.
There is food in Siberia. But the political situation which they have
brought about and the breakdown of transportation have made it
impossible to tap that food ; and more than that, there is food in the
hands of peasants, and would be more — that is the chief difficulty —
but their treatment of the peasants has made it impossible for them
to get any food into the towns. The peasants will not give up the
food, in the first place, because no goods are exchanged, nothing but
money, and money is valueless. In the second place, they will not
give it up at the fixed prices, which bear no relation to the other
things which they have to buy.
In Siberia, where there was much food, but under the Bolshevik
regime I have been in towns where it was very difficult to obtain, and
yet close outside of those towns there was plenty of food, but the
peasants did not bring it in. We had meat brought to our house in
Irkutsk by a peasant girl who had raised the calf and killed it and
brought it in to sell. She was stopped by a Eed Guard, who took the
calf away from her. She said that she was a peasant girl, and she
said, " I am going to take this calf in and sell this meat." She said,
" I am a poor girl, and I am going to sell this meat." The Red Guard
said, " You will have to sell it to me and you will have to sell it at the
normal, set price for meat." She refused to do this, and the result
was a battle of words between her brother, who happened to be fairly
good sized, and herself, and this man ; so that finally the calf, in that
instance, was given up, and we ate it.
Maj. Humes. Go on with any other phase of the economic situa-
tion that you have in mind and are familiar with.
Mr. HuNTiKGTON. Evidently here it is very difficult for people
living under normal circumstances, as we do, to make any picture of
life there. In the towns like Petrograd and Moscow, as soon as you
come into them you immediately mark a strangeness. In Petrograd,
in September, the town in the first place was very empty. As many
people had gone away as could. The streets, which are very wide
and fine, were almost empty. A sorrowful aspect over the whole
place was very terrible. When I arrived there I fortunately had
food with me, as every one else had. Everyone brought his food.
An old servant of the house where I lived offered to share her one-
eighth of a pound of black bread with me, so that I had a chance to
see how big that portion was.
As far as the theaters are concerned, it is often urged that the
theater is an amusement place, and as the theaters are running, life
there must be normal. I can only say that some of my principal
lessons in the Russian language were taken from one of the best actors
there — one of the second-rate actors, I mean, who never played the
first role — of the Alexander Theater of Petrograd, and that he was
heart-broken over the whole matter, and recounted to me the reaction
of all his actor friends to it, and I was able in the theater afterwards
to see the reaction on the performance of these people. These theaters,
like the Art Theater of Moscow, which is perhaps the cleverest in the
■World, seen in 1918 and seen in 1917 were two different pictures ; and
doubtless the people act in order to get bread, but there is no heart
in it.
78 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Overman. What is the normal size of Petrograd?
Mr. Huntington. Petrograd and Moscow are nearly the same
size — ^2,000,000 apiece. Population in war time swelled by the influx
of refugees.
Senator Overman. ^^Tien you left there, how many people were
left in Petrograd?
Mr. Huntington. I do not know. I have seen and heard esti-
mates, but I have no waA' to tell except by the general aspect of the
lown and the lack of people on the streets; no more movement, no
life, no " go " about it ; the shops, many of them, boarded up.
Senator Overman. Did the people leave the city on account of the
terror ?
Mr. Huntington. Terror and lack of food.
Senator Overman. It is so in Moscow also?
Mr. Huntington. Moscow was a little better placed, because Mos-
cow is nearer the center of the country and it has more railroad
lines running into it, and is nearer the food-producing area. When I
speak of the better class of people I do not refer to the old court,
necessarily, at all. The favorite comparison is made now as if Russia
was only in two parts, the old court and the new Bolsheviks, and as if
the Bolsheviks had made the Russian revolution, which they did not;
but it was made by those people, liberal people of all kinds, people
who have been fighters against the old regime in bygone days.
Senator Overman. Where did those better people go; where did
the merchants and bankers and men of substance go when they left
the city ?
Mr. Huntington. Most of them ran to Scandinavia. Some of
them went to the Ukraine, some of them into the Baltic Provinces,
which at that time were better places. Some ran to Finland, but that
got difficult because the Finns did not want more people over there.
They had too little food themselves.
The better class, the richer class, including some of the wealthiest
class, whom Lenine thought he had brolien, are to-day to be found
in Copenhagen, London, Paris, living along quite all right, while
some of the finest of the old Liberals and strugglers are living in
Moscow in apartments, like some friends of mine there, not knowing
when they will have to get out of the apartment; having people
thrust on them ; being peremptorily told that this and that man will
come and live with them to-morrow ; and on their sayin'g, " We have
not any room ; every room is occupied," being told, " Well, you will
have to double up." They may never have seen this man, but that
makes no difference. One has no personal liberty. And then, as
they have grown more desperate the terror has increased, and there
comes the constant risk that one's life may be taken.
Maj. Humes. Have you any idea how many of those people came
to this country ?
Mr. Huntington. I think comparatively few came to this coun-
try, because it was very difficult to get passports, very difficult to
get out — to get out through the west gate. To get out through the
gate running from Petrograd to Stockholm you had to get a passport
from the Swedes before you could leave Russia, because Sweden had
a rationing of food and did not want to take refugees, and if you
could get your passport frotn America, then you took it to the
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 79
Swedish and Norwegian authorities, and then with those and a
Bolshevik passport you could presumably leave and get away if you
could pass the German blockade on the Baltic Sea on the way across.
It is rather interesting, since the international point of view of
these people does not seem to be comprehended here, and the fact
that they worked for an international movement, to recount the story
of how Mr. Eansome went to Stockholm. He is an English writer
of very considerable brilliance and he was in very close relation with
the Bolshevik government. I hav€ not seen him doing so, but some<
of our Americans reported to me seeing him in the Bolshevik foreign
office chatting and shaking hands with the German representatives.
That, of course, was perfectly in line with his creed, which he never
denied, so far as I know, of being an internationalist and not recog-
nizing the German as his enemy.
He came to the Swedish consul general one day in Moscow and
asked the consul general for a passport — to vise his Bolshevik pass-
port; not his usual passport, but his Bolshevik courier's passport;
that is, the passport of a courier carrying documents, which covers
the courier and the documents in a sealed bag, which he carries. He
did not show his British passport. He had a Bolshevik passport.
He asked for a vise on this. The Swedish consul general looked at
him and said, " Why, you are an Englishman." He said, " Yes."
He said, "There is no use my viseing your passport. You will get
on that boat and they (the Germans) will put you off at Helsingfors,"
which was the prominent point where their boats stopped. " They
will take you off the boat there." He said, " No ; they will not."
The consul general said, " I am not going to make a fool of myself
and vise your passport." Kansome came again and was refused in
the same way. The consul general said there was no use to talk
about it. He said, " You will be arrested. I do not care to be foolish
about it."
Finally he came a third time, and he had with him Mr. Karl Radek,
who was the representative of the Bolshevik foreign commissariat
in charge of western European affairs, whose name has prominently
figured in the Bolshevik group in Germany recently as directing
their operations or advising with them. Mr. Radek told the Swedish
consul general that they wanted Mr. Eansome's passport vised. He
was told by the consul general, " It is useless for me to do that. The
Germans will take him off, with a passport vised. They know he
is an Englishman." Mr. Radek said, "You leave that to us. Mr.
Ransome is going out to the outside, to tell the truth about our
work." This is rather interesting, at a time, of course, when no
messages for any of the allied countries could pass out, nor could
the newspaper correspondents pass out except at great risk, through
underground channels; yet to tell the truth about their movement
Mr. Ransome was being sent by the Bolsheviki, and on his voyage
to Sweden guaranteed against capture by the Germans, to do this
work.
Senator Wolcott. As a sequel to that, did Mr. Ransome — I do
not know anything about the man, but did he get out with the
rest of the world ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; he got out into Stockholm. I do not
know where he is now. In Stockholm, I suppose he is.
80 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Wolcott. Do you kno\\- whether he is writing any arti-
cles for the papers for publication?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; I think so.
Senator Wolcott. Any that are being published in this country?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; he is a very interesting writer.
Senator Wolcott. From what you say, we are entitled to say that
anything Mr. Ransonie puts out in this country ovqv his name is
the expression of an agent of this Bolshevik bunch of people in
-Russia?
Mr. Huntington. It is certainly- the expression of a man whom
they regard as a good propagandist, or interpreter of their spirit
and work; yes.
Senator Wolcott. Have you seen any of his articles in this
country ?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir ; I have not.
Senator Overman. Have you observed in this country, since your
return, any Bolshevik jDropaganda going on — any appearance of it
in this country?
Mr. Huntington. I have been here a short time, and I have made
very little study of the matter up to this time, since I have been
mostly engaged with the organization of my own work, v.-hich is
Russian-American trade relations, preparing for the future. It
seems to me, though, that this is hot a case for fine-drawn distinc-
tions. If it be urged that the Bolshevik Government is honest
and fair and true, if it be urged by speakers here that it be
recognized and dealt with, when you had read to you this morn-
ing that its object is to upset every government in the world — to
urge people to have such friendly relations with it is tantamount to
urging them to have relations with an agency which contemplates
their ultimate destruction. Unless it "has repealed and taken back
these principles which it has, all along, been enunciating (of which
I do not know), by actual design or favorable consideration and the
condoning of the terror it seems to me one makes it easier for these
same people to then spread the doctrines which they preach, and
which there is no hypocrisy about, it being a matter of public record
in our country and other countries.
Senator Overman. Did you notice, when you were over there, any
effort to make propaganda of these and other doctrines in other
countries ?
Mr. Huntington. Constantly. That is the chief thing they have
tried to do — the chief thing they have done up to this time.
Senator Wolcott. Are you going to some other subject now,
Major?
Maj. Humes. I was going to take that right up.
Are you familiar with any particular instances where the agencies
of the Bolsheviki regime went into neutral countries for the purpose
of carrying their propaganda, financed from Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. Wlien I was in Sweden in September, it was
brought to my attention by a Socialist friend, who arrived on a boat
from Petrograd, that the former commissar of finance, Mr. Gukovsky,
had come on that boat with a young lady, and Mr. Gukovsky had
18 trunks and the young lady was reported to have had three,
fl.nd the chief contents of the trunks, or one of the chief articles
BOLSPIEVIK PROPAGANDA. 81
contained in the trunks, was said to be upward of 60,000,000 rubles of
old currency, or at least currency printed on the dies of the old
regime — the fine old bills. Those bills were worth in Stockholm at
that time, where there was a considerable market, about 52/100 of a
Swedish crown, depending upon the market, whereas the new so-
called Kerensky money, printed from the new designs, was only
41/100 of a crown. The small shin plaster " kerenki," in denomina-
tions of 20 and 40 rubles, brought about 30/100 of a Swedish crown.
Maj. Humes. What is the money of the Bolsheviki regime worth,
then?
Mr. Huntington. At that rate, that quantity of money would rep-
resent something like 30,000,000 Swedish crowns, or by the exchange
of that day, about 10,000,000 American dollars, for propaganda pur-
poses.
Senator Overman. For Bolshevik propaganda^
Mr. Huntington. For propaganda purposes. For propaganda
purposes in Sweden they had a legation. I did not go into it, but
of course many people have been in it. They had there a score of
people.
In Copenhagen they had another such legation. In Bergen they
had their agent ; but chiefly in Copenhagen and Stockholm they had
large legations that were steadily at work all' the time putting out
propaganda into the Swedish and Danish nations, with the idea of
catching the workmen in those countries.
Senator Overman. Do you know of any effort in this country?
Mr. Huntington. I have made very little study of it, sir; but there
ure appearing lately, apparently in the last few days, journals which
I have seen, which certainly advocate a very friendly attitude toward
the Bolshevik, in which certiiiu articles, written by them, appeared.
As, for instance, a journal called " The Liberator," in which an ar-
ticle by Mr. Lenine appeared ; and others like that, advocating their
system, have appeared.
Senator Overman. It seems from what you say that they have a
large fund outside of Russia for this propaganda work in order to
overturn all the governments of the world.
Mr. Huntington. That is my understanding.
Senator Overman. Do you think they go into England and Ger
many also, with their propaganda?
Mr. Huntington. I know that they have been in Germany, work
ing as hard as they can. In England they are working, yes, too.
Senator Overman. And in France?
Mr. Huntington. Yes ; oh, yes.
Senator Wolcott. Coming back to this man Ransome — what is his
full name?
Mr. Huntington. I think his first name is Arthur. I do not know
any other name.
Senator Wolcott. It runs in my mind, in a rather hazy way, that
I have seen some articles in newspapers in this country by that man.
Mr. Huntington. He wrote for the New York Times, for a serv-
ice in which they were partakers, and for a long time, I was told by
one of their editors, they printed his articles because they thought
they were interesting and because it gave the other side of the story.
They said they used to print them and put a headline over them
85723—19 6
82 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
explaining who he was. I have never seen that. I was not here at
that period.
Senator Wolcott. He came out of Russia when ?
Mr. Huntington. I could get the exact date, perhaps, out of a
diary or a notebook. I should think it was in July.
Senator Wolcott. In 1918?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; maybe in August.
Senator Wolcott. Apparently the Russian Bolshevik official who
induced the Swedish consul to vise his passport had some connection
with the German authorities which wag of such nature that this
man Ransome would be allowed to go on to his destination, showing
that there was some connection between the Bolsheviks and some-
l30dy in Germany. Were the Spartacans at that particular time in
the ascendancy in Germany?
Mr. Huntington. No; the change in Germany had not taken
place. Their relations were founded upon a treaty of peace and
comity.
Senator Wolcott. Oh, yes; that was in July, 1918. Of course,
that was before the armistice?
Mr. Huntington. Yes. That treaty was with the Imperial Ger-
man Government.
Senator Wolcott. The Kaiser was still on the throne ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. They carried the red flag. That is what it
means, " the Reds "? Is that what these Bolsheviks carry?
Mr. Huntington. The flag is, of course, simply of the socialist
revolution.
Senator Overman. It is simply revolutionary ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator 0^^;EMAN. Do the socialists carry it. also?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. And do the I. W. W. carry it, also?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. The I. W. W. have a red flag, the Bolsheviks
have a red flag, and the socialists have a red flag. What does that
all mean — the red flag? Is it just an emblem of revolution?
Mr. Huntington. It means not always the same thing.
Senator Overman. On the railroads something like that means
danger ahead. On automobiles, in the rear, it means danger.
Mr. Huntington. In the case of the Bolsheviks it means interna-
tionalism without regarding nationalit}'^, and the spirit of the social
revolution throughout the world.
Senator Overman. What does it mean with the socialists?
Mr. Huntington. In the case of the socialists, in the case of the
honest socialists, as far as I understand it — of course I am defining
it as an outsider — it means a symbol of the emancipation of society
which they hope to achieve by honest methods.
Senator Overman. What does it mean in the I. W. W. ?
Mr. Huntington. I do not know about the I. W. W. I have not
been in contact with that organization.
Senator Overman. Is it not very significant that all these asso-
ciations have the same flag, the red flag?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 83''
Mr. Htjntington. That has occurred to me, but I have not fol-
lowed it.
Senator Overman. That thej' all should adopt one flag, is not that
significant ?
Maj. Humes. At the time of the Ransome incident, is it not true'
that the Bolshevik government had an ambassador in Germany?
Mr. Huntington. Oh, yes; they had
Maj. Humes. That was after the treaty of peace, and they were
officially represented in Germany ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; they were in friendly relations with Ger-
many. There was no reason in the world why they should not have
relations with Germany after the signing of the treaty of peace with
them.
Maj. Humes. So that they were at that time on friendly terms
with the German Government and in touch with the German Gov-
ernment through their diplomatic service?
Mr. Huntington. Oh, yes.
Senator Overman. Do you know what sort of flag the nihilists
have ? Is that a red flag also ?
Mr. Huntington. I do not know.
Senator Overman. And how about the anarchists?
Mr. Huntington. The anarchists have a black flag.
Senator Wolcott. Do you know whether or not there are any
speakers or writers in this country who are acting in the interests of
• this world-wide Bolshevik movement ?
Mr. Huntington. I do not know. I only can tell anything at all
by reading the speeches and contributions of people in the press, and
where they appear to be not only friendly to the Bolshevik govern-
ment, but to desire that it be aided and helped ; and either they do
this in ignorance or they do it hoping that the ideals of the so-called
soviet government will be realized in this country or other coun-
tries where they may be working.
Senator Wolcott. At all events, you do see in the public prints in
this country, at one time and another, things that are entirely in
harmony with these Bolshevik expressions?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. Did you go to this meeting at Poll's Theater
that people have been talking about ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes.
Senator Overman. Was that speaking there in line with that?
Mr. Huntington. What was done there was very definite. There
were two speakers, a gentleman and a lady, who each one in his
own way handled this question, and who spoke from experience in
Russia, and who praised the movement there, and who justified its
activities there.
Senator Overman. Were they American citizens?
Mr. Huntington. I think so.
Senator Wolcott. They had just come from Russia?
Mr. Huntington.- I do not know how lately. I do not know the
exact date of their arrival here ; within a few months, I think.
Senator Wolcott. My recollection is that that meeting was a
n)e«i-.iin« that was called for the nurnose of telling the people herp>
84 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
in the Capital the truth about Russia. Was not that the express
purpose of the meeting?
Mr. Huntington. That was the caption in the newspaper adver-
tisement.
Senator Wolcott. They used the same phrases exactly as were
employed by the Bolshevik man over in Russia when he was inducing
the Swedish consul to vise the passport oi Mr. Ransome, who, ac-
cording to the Bolsheviki, was going out into the world to tell the
truth about Russia?
Mr. Htjntington. Yes.
Maj. Humes. Were you present at that meeting?
Mr. Huntington. In Washington, here?
Maj. Humes. Yes.
Mr. Huntington. Yes, sir.
Maj. Humes. What do you say as to the statements made by those
persons being the truth about Russia ?
Mr. Huntington. Well, I took careful note of many of them, and
it seemed to me that, in the light of my own knowledge, they were
not true, at all. What this was founded on, whether on poor obser-
vation or ignorance of the subject or willful misrepresentation, I do
not know; but I do not believe that the audience heard the truth
about Russia.
Maj. Humes. Do you or do you not know, as a fact, that the man
who spoke on that occasion came to this country purporting to offi-
cially represent the Bolshevist government?
Mr. Huntington. I do not know. I have heard that, but I do not
kno^v of my own knowledge.
Maj. PIuMES. Do you know from your own knowledge of an at-
tempt made, while you were in Russia, by an emissary of the Bol-
shevist government to present credentials of the Bolshevist gov-
ernment in this country?
Mr. Huntington. I know of it simply because of having been em-
ployed in the American Embassy, that there was a request made by
the Bolshevik commisar of foreign affairs, the date of which I do not
recall, since it was not my business — it was told to me as a matter of
interest only by another whose business it was — to accredit Mr. John
Reed as consul general of the people's soviet government in New
York.
Senator Overman. Is he the man that is interned now?
Maj. Humes. No; he has been indicted.
Senator Wolcott. Was it his wife that was at this meeting, speak-
ing?
Mr. Huntington. I understand so.
Senator Wolcott. Did she call herself Mrs. Reed ?
Maj. Humes. No; Louise Bryant was the name she went by here.
Senator Wolcott. She is the wife, then, of an aspirant to the
office of consul of the Bolsheviki?
Senator Overman. Did she speak here ?
Maj. Humes. Yes, sir; under the name of Louise Bryant.
Senator Overman. I noticed a communication in that document
you had, from John Reed ?
Maj. HmsiEs. Yes.
Senator Overman. And there is one from Lenine.
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 85
Maj. Humes. Can you point out some of the erroneous statements
that were made by these two speakers at the meeting in question ? I
do not want to go over their addresses in detail, but just as you think
of them, just the high spots.
Mr. Huntington. If that would be of value, I have notes, but not
with me, on that. I could take those up if it should be thought de-
sirable to do so.
Maj. Humes. I do not know whether the committee would care to
take that up in detail or not.
Mr. Huntington. I think it is rather long.
Senator Overman. I think he has told generally about it — that
it is the Bolshevik doctrine that they are preaching there, and it is
not true.
Maj. Humes. You stated a few moments ago that the Bolslieviki
were represented in Germany by an ambassador. What other coun-
try received ambassadors or ministers?
Mr. Huntington. They had relations with the neutral Scandi-
navian countries, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, and they also had
relations with Holland and Switzerland. Holland's minister has
left, and the Swedish minister and all the consular officers have been
recalled, and I understand the Norwegian also, and it has since ap-
peared in the papers that the Danish minister appeared in Paris at
the peace confei-ence. The papers also stated that the Swiss minister
had some -difficulty in getting away. I can not say whether he has
finally left or not.
Senator Oveeman. Do you know whether this Bolshe^-ik move-
ment is in Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark?
Mr. Huntington. They are all free countries, all democratic
countries, and from time immemorial Switzerland has been a country
in Europe where people might say what they liked, and take refuge,
and these people have enjoyed Switzerland's hospitality like many
others.
Senator Oveeman. Is there an eifort to infuse that doctrine among
the Swiss?
Mr. Huntington. Most decidedly.
Maj. Humes. You said something with reference to graft in
Russia. What do you know about the question of graft in the pres-
ent regime?
Mr. Huntington. Well, I can only repeat the words of a business
man who was trying to do business there. When I asked him that
question, he stated he had never found it so expensive to do business
as now. As a matter of fact, the places in the ministi'y, or so-called
commissariats, are filled by chance men, and these men are changed
often, and lots of times these men are simply men who have never had
much opportunity in, life, and therefore perhaps have not built up
strong characters or principles, and also because they think they may
need the money. As a matter due to the lack of morality, and an
anarchical condition, the use of money for such purposes is very fre-
quent and usual.
Senator Oveeman. Was not that so under the old regime, that there
was bribery and corruption?
Mr. Huntington. There always has been in Eussia, which par-
takes of the Orient in that way, but never to such an extent as now.
86 BOLSHEVIK PE0PAGA2!TDA.
Senator Over Ji an. If you wanted things done you would have to
grease them I
Jlr. HuNTiNGTox. Yes: but strangely enough under the monarchy
the bargain was observed, and if the grease had been given, as a rule
it was thorouglily standardized — if you will overlook my apparent
cynicism — and the promise that was given was kept, while at present
people have no hesitancy in accepting money and turning on the
giver, which seems to be a little worse than the other, although
neither is defensible. The difficulty under the old regime was the
oriental character of the people, and was in numy places also due
to the low pay of the government officials, who came to regard these
fees which they received as a part of their income. An official in the
ministry of commerce, we will say, through wlwse hands certain
applications and papers p)assed, and who by signing a paper quickly
could forward it and get a matter through, instead of the slow prog-
ress it usually made, would accept a fee for it, salving his con-
science by saying that he ought to receive it from the government,
and since they did not pay it he Avould take it from these men.
Senator Wolcott. Coming back to this Washington meeting for a
moment. You say 3'ou were down there and took notes. While
there was praise of the soviet government of Russia, was there or
not any criticism or denunciation of our form of government in this
country ?
Mr. HrXTiN(!TOX. I was at the meeting from -1 o'clock until about
half past 4. That was the period of the two speeches and of the
introductions. There was no more criticism of our form of govern-
ment in that time, as far as the introducer or the speakers were
concerned, than would be usual in a political discussion on their
part. During the period I was there the criticism was only by
implication; that is, thev defended and advocated and urged aid for
and consideration for, and justified, a government whose avowed
purpose is to' overthrow ours. They did not, during the time
I was there, say anything directly about the overthrow of the Gov-
ernment.
Senator Wolcoit. Doctor, do you know anything of an incident or
a rather gruesome thing that occurred in Eussia that had to do
with throwing some dukes or grand dukes down into a well and
firiiio- band grenades in on them?
]^.Ir. Hux-JiNGTOx. There was a thing of that kind reported in the
Ural JMountains, in the cit^' of Ekaterinburg, which is a sort of
capital in the I^rals, a city of some size, and a mining center. It was
in this city that the Czar and his family were confined. Also grand
dukes had been confined there, and .some others at times. The letter,
Avritten in November by an American business man, who was there,
states it as a fact that this was done, and that the bodies were re-
<jovered. That is all I know.
Senator Wolcutt. How many of them were thrown in there?
^Ir. Huntin(;tox. I do not know.
Senator Wolcott. Was it into a well that the letter stated they
were thrown?
iir. HrxTixcTox. Yes, sir.
Senator Wolcott. And hand grenades thrown on them?
]Mr. HrxTixGTOx. Thrown on them; ves.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 87
Senator Wolcott. And all of them killed in there ?
Mr. Huntington. Yes; that was the account.
Senator Overman. Plow is the treatment of women and children?
Mr. Huntington. Why, nothing special. The Bolshevik theory of
government, which has got all the liberal innovations — the good with
the bad, all kinds, of course — is the equal rights of women.
The practice is all right toward them as far as any attention is
paid at all to the women and children, except the women and
children of the former so-called upper classes, who are consid-
ered as class enemies and who may be let alone or who may be
arrested. The Official Gazette of September 5, which I did not read
this morning but of which you have a copy, said that they arrested
Kerensky's wife and children as hostages. There are reports that
the children have been killed. I could not state.
Senator Overman. They regarded men and women as equals, and
if they imposed cruelties on men they treated the women the same
way, taking the property away from them ?
Mr. Huntington. Certainly, as far as that is concerned.
Senator Overman. They made no difference with women, either
for or against?
Mr. HuNiTNGTON. No ; except that the women come less in con-
tact with them from the fact of having more to do at home. They
come under the tyranny; as friends of mine did who were called
before a commissar and were told that they must take men into
their quarters to live there; and they may be embarrassed by them
living in small places, and not being able to be shut off from people
whom they have never seen. I do not loiow of anything besides that,
out of my personal knowledge. I know — not personally, but by
an account given by another — that in Moscow many women were im-
prisoned, and in a particular instance a Russian lady in whose
house a British diplomatic representative lived, was in the same
prison and described the conditions. That is all I know of any par-
ticular case.
Senator Overman. Is there any considerable number of women in
the army over there ?
Mr. HuxTiNGTON. No, sir. There was the so-called women's bat-
talion under the government of Kerensky, which doubtless repre-
sented on their part, or at least of part of them, a noble striving, and
on the part of others a spirit of adventure; but it had no material
weight in the scale at all.
Senator Overman. There was not any considerable number?
Mr. Huntington. No, sir.
Senator Overman. Any questions. Major?
Maj. Humes. I have no other questions at this time.
Senator Overman. We are very much obliged to you.
Mr. Huntington. If there is anything else that I can tell you, I
am at your disposal.
Senator Overman. Thank you. If we need any other testimony,
we shall call on you.
Now, is there any other witness that you can put on this after-
noon?
Maj. Humes. Yes, sir; Mr. Harper.
88 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
TESTIMONY OF MR. SAMUEL N. HARPER.
(The witness was sworn by the chah-man.)
Maj. Humes. Mr. Harper, where do you live?
Mr. Harper. Chicago.
3Iaj. Humes. In what business or profession are you engaged?
Mr. Harper. I am a teacher in the University of Chicago.
Maj. Humes. Have you during a number of years past given
special attention to Eussia and to Russian conditions and Eussian
history '.
Mr. Harper. ]My special topic of study has been Eussia. My
official title in the' university is assistant professor of Eussian lan-
guage and institutions. I have devoted the major portion of my
time during the last 15 years to the study of Eussian institutions,
Eussian historj'. and Eussian political movements.
Maj. Humes. How much time have you spent in Eussia during
that period?
Mr. Harper. An aggregate, I should say, of about four years, but
it has been spread out. I have been able to go to Eussia frequently
by arrangements with the university or other institutions with which
I have been connected. I have made to Eussia 12 visits, varying in
length from two to six months.
Maj. Humes. When were you last in Eussia?
Mr. Harper. In 1917. I arrived in Eussia the end of June, 1917,
and left the end of September of that same year, 1917.
Maj. Humes. That was during the so-called Kerensky regime?
Mr. Harper. Yes. I arrived when Prince Lvoff was still prime
minister of the first provisional government.
Maj. Humes. Have you during the last few years been in the
service of the Government in connection with anj^ Eussian work?
Mr. Harper. I have not been in the service of the Government in
the sense of being officially appointed as a Government official or at-
tached officially to an embass;\' , but in my last two visits to Eussia. in
1916 and 19l7, I offered my services to the ambassador, and my
services were used occasionallj' as an interpreter. But I have had no
official connection with the Government in the sense of being ap-
pointed to a definite task or being paid for a definite piece of work.
Maj. HuJiEs. Now, Professor, Avill you outline the changes in the
Government of Eussia, commencing with the overthrow of the mon-
archical government, the different forms of government, and the the-
ories of government of the different regimes ?
Mr. Harper. The form of government before the revolution was
somewhat difficult to define in our terms.
Maj. Humes. What do you mean by revolution?
^Mr. Harper. Before the revolution of March, 1917. The head of
the state was an emperor so that we call it a monarchical form of gov-
ernment. The fundamental laws, what would be our Constitution,
spoke of him as an autocrat. There had been instituted since 1905 a
representative elective assembly, the Duma, elected not by direct suf-
frage, but elected on a system of elections bj' which all groups of the
population were represented, though not in proportion to their
number. It was in that sense a representative body. It had legisla-
tive functions, but it did not have much control over the adminis-
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 89
tration. In view of the fact that they had a legislature elected, it
was technically called a constitutional form of government, though
in actual practice the parliament had very little independent voice
in the affairs of the country. It had no control over the administra-
tion. It did control legislation to a certain extent.
This institution was introduced in 1905. From the very start there
was conflict between what Avas called the government, that is the
executive, and this legislative body. The first Duma sat only two
months and was dissolved. The second Dmna sat only two months
and was dissolved. A change in the election law was introduced by
which a larger share in the voting and dominant conti-ol of the elec-
tions Avas secured to the landlord and manufacturing classes in the
third Duma.
Senator Wolcott. That change in election law was made by
whom ?
Mr. Harper. It was made by the sovereign, by the Emperor, and
this was quite distinctly a coup d'etat. It was an infringement of the
constitution — the fundamental laws.
Senator Wolcott. It was not made by the legislative body of the
nation ?
Mr. Harper. No. It was made by the sovereign.
Senator Wolcott. Had this Duma any real legislative power ?
Mr. Harper. In the fundamental law one clause read that no meas-
ure could become a law without the sanction of the imperial council —
which was an upper house, half appointed and half elected — and the
Imperial Duma. Various devices were used to get around that pro-
vision. I will cite just one. In the fundamental law there was also
a provision that in the event of emergency the administration or
executive could introduce a measure, and could apply that measure
immediately, the provision being made, however, that within 60
days after the reconvening of the legislature the measure must be^
submitted to the legislature.
Senator Wolcott. Was it under the emergency provision that the
Czar proclaimed the change in this election law that you spoke of ?
Mr. Harper. No; he did not. In the manifesto dissolving the
second Duma and introducing the new electoral law, though I do not
recall the words exactly, he pointed out that this second Duma had
not proven worthy ; that the system of election was faulty ; and he
appealed to his historic right to change the law. It was frankly a
coup d'etat.
This third Duma was elected, if I remember correctly, in 1907. It
went through its full period of five years, but toward the end of
its session, despite the fact that it had been elected under this new
law which gave to the propertied classes the majority of the seats in
the electoral colleges that elected the Duma — it was' an indirect
election — ^the Duma developed an oppositionary spirit.
During the elections for the fourth Duma in 1912 — I happened to
be in Kussia at thei time — the administration was able, through
its local officials, to exercise a very definite control over the elections,
and the fourth Duma had even a larger majority of the landlord and
manufacturing classes. They were politically the more conservative
element of the community, and this election law was a very interesting
law in that it definitely provided for representation of all groups of
90 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
the population. I avoid the word " class," and call them groups —
economic groups. The Eussian community had been divided into
economic groups verj- rigidly for a great many generations. The
system of taxation was perhaps the most important factor behind this
distribution of the population into economic groups. Roughly, a man
who was a landlord owning a large estate would be in the landlord
group; the manufacturer would be in tlie manufacturers' group.
There would also be the worlonen group and the peasant group.
Those were the largest groups. The clei'gy were also a group by
themselves, the basis not being economic entirely, although to a cer-
tain extent, because the clergy under the old regime received not
only a salary but were assigned a certain amount of land, which the
village priest either cultivated himself or had cultivated, and that
■was iDart of his means of subsistence.
This electoral laAv provided for the repi'esentation of each of those
groups, and it provided that the peasants must elect a peasant
representative from their own number to this assembly. Without
going into the detail of that law, the result was that one found in
the fourth Duma, on the eve of the war, landlords, one found manu-
facturers, one found peasants — that is to say, men who came from the
villages — and one found workmen who were elected under this elec-
toral system from the factories. In one sense it was a very repre-
sentative bod}', in that all groups had tlieir spokesman, the basis of
the law being that workmen's interests could be represented only by
workmen, and peasants' interests by peasants.
Theoretically, then, all groups were represented, and it was a ques-
tion of the weight that the electoral law ga\e to each grouj). If I
am not mistaken, of the 450 members of the Duma, only 13 or 14
were workmen, and the peasants were about 80, one from each of
the provinces, and some had slipped in in addition to the peasant
deputies that had been elected under the provisions of the law from
each province. Then the rest were professional men, men of the
liberal professions, landlords or manufacturers, the landlord and
manufacturing classes being given by the law a majority in the
assembly.
The fourth Duma worked with the government for the first
period of its existence, but very early, before the war, there developed
the conflict between the Duma, representing the beginning of con-
stitutionalism in Eussia, and the government. This conflict was
very bitter on the eve of the war. The first reports from Eussia
after the declaration or outbreak of war in August, 1914, spoke of
a session of the Duma that was called. The Duma was called, was
convened in extraordinary session, and the reports of the speeches
there showed that all the leaders of the various parties in the Duma —
and there were social democrats and reactionaries — were going to
drop their political strife in support of the government, and the
Duma voted the war appropriations asked for by the government.
When the war began to go against Eussia, and members of the
Duma saw the inefficienc}- with which the war was being conducted,
they demanded a reconvening of the Duma, which took place in the
early months of 1915, and at that meeting it was clear that conflict
was again developing between the Duma and the government,
not on the basis of any internal political questions, but on the
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 91
basis of the acts and methods of the government in organizing
the machinery for the prosecution of tlie war. This conflict took
a sharper turn in the beginning of the second year of tlie Avar
after the defeats and military disasters on the southwestern front,
and in Poland particularly, and the Duma was convened but not
allowed to sit for a very long period.
I left Eussia, on my second visit since the outbreak of the war, in
September, 1916, and by that date the conflict between the Duma and
the government had Ijecome very definite, and those of us who
Avere following that phase of the situation saw very many evidences
pointing to an open conflict between the public, which was repre-
sented with the limitations that I have indicated in this Duma, and
the government, or administration, the ruling group.
The history of the revolution, as given by Dr. Huntington, points
out that during the period of the revolution itself, that first week,
the Duma played a very important role, and it was from the com-
mittee of the Duma that the first provisional government was ap-
pointed, in collaboration — that is, after consultation — with the lead-
ers in these other institutions, the so^-iets, that emerged from the first
•days of the revolution.
The first government after the revolution was the provisional gov-
ernment. It was called the provisional government, the word '' pro-
visional '" indicating that it was not a permanent government, but
provisional until the convening of a constituent assembly that would
determine the form of government for Eussia. This first provisional
government Avas not in a technical and political sense responsible
to anybody. It did not consider itself responsible to the Duma.
This Duma connnittee had met during those first da3's of the
revolution and selected this government, and continued to meet
but really as a private gathering. The Duma was not abolished. It
was a very moot question as to what the status of the parliament of
the old I'egime was after the revolution. The government was not
responsible to these new institutions, the Soviets, that had grown iip,
that had emei-ged with the revolution, institutions organized defi-
nitely on the class Itasis, councils of workmen and soldiers and coun-
cils of peasants.
In the first proA'isional government there Avas one member who
Avas at the same time the vice president of the central committee of
the Petrograd council of workmen and soldiers' deputies, which Avas
the first of the councils to emerge, and that Avas Kerensky, but he
was not in there as the representative of the council, and he Avas not
technically responsible to the Soviets. This first proA-isional govern-
ment Avas, therefore, as its name indicated, a provisional government
exercising a kind of supreme authority. One could hardly call it a
dictatorship, but it Avas not responsible to any legislatiA-e body. It
recognized the influence of the Soviets as shown by the facts that
in the second month of the reA'olution tAvo members of the goA--
emment resigned largely because of the attitude and the criticisms
of their policies and of their acts in the Soviets. The Soviets in-
stituted themselves as the organization of what was knoAvn as the
reA'olutionary democracy of the Avorkmen, of the peasants, and of
the soldiers. They did not pretend during those first two months
of the revolution to exercise political power in the technical sense.
92 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
The resolution of the soviet executive council said definitely that
they would support the provisional government so long as it clearly
by its policies showed it was following a democratic line. The
soviet constituted^itself as a land of watchdog over the provisional
government.
After the resignation of the two ministers of the first provisional
government, because of the attitude toward them of the Soviets, the
question of a frank coalition government in which should be repre-
sented members of all parties, was taken up, and the nonsocialists in-
sisted on the formation of what is generally Iniown as and what was
specifically called in Eussia a coalition government, in which there,
should be representatives of all parties, socialists, nonsocialists. and
the socialist members who were in this coalition government were
also members of the soviet.
Again, it was not a question of their being selected by the Soviets,
elected from the soviet to represent the Soviets in the government.
They merely recognized their personal responsibility to the soviet.
and were constantly reporting to the soviet on their policies, appear-
ing before the Soviets, justifying their measures before the Soviets.
That was the coalition form of government that was introduced in
June. It still called itself a provisional government, waiting for the
constituent assembly to determine the final form of government in
Eussia. There were later changes in the composition of the pro-
visional government at moments of crisis. At such moments of crisis
many persons would resign, and thei'e were a whole series of crises
from July on. Other membeis would be brought in. The coalition
idea was maintained, however, up to the time of the Bolsheviki coup
d'etat, there being in the provisional go\'ernment always representa-
tives of the two main political groups or tendencies, the nonsocialists
and the socialists.
We could hardly speak of that as a definite form of government.
It was a provisional form of government to carry the country through
the first months until the constituent assembly could be convened.
The revolution was in March, 1917. The date for the convening of
the constituent assembly was fixed for September, 1917. That date
was later postponed to Decembei'. 1917, the postponement being made
when Kerensky, who was prime minister, saw that it would be impos-
sible to conduct the election, not because no preparations had been
made, but because the economic organization of the country had col-
lapsed, and the war burdens and general disorganization of the coun-
try, not produced by the revolution entirely, but inherited from the
old regime, made it impossible to carry out the reelections of local
goveniment bodies which were to take place before the general elec-
tions for the constituent assemlily.
In July and August they started to reelect, under a new law, the
local government bodies, the municipal councils, and what the Eus-
sians call their provincial councils, somewhat similar to our county
councils, local government in rural as opposed to urban com-
munities. These elections took place in July and August. The sys-
tem of election was universal suffrage, direct vote, proportional repre-
sentation. These new bodies were to be elected on the basis of elec-
tion lists that were prepared during the registration of those first
months. Then, one of their first tasks was to be the verification of
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 93
the registration or election lists, so that on the basis of these verified
.election lists the election for the constituent assembly could take place.
We often hear the statement that the provisional government delib-
erately postponed the convening of the constituent assembl}'. I have
personally felt that that statement was not a correct statement ; that
the reasons given for postponing were perfectly valid. The Kerensky
government stated definitely, as I recall it, that it would be a mistake
to sacrifice regularity of election in order to have the constituent
assembly meet a little earlier. Those of us who were there at the
time saw the confusion of the coimtrv, and knew that \'\'hen there
had been elections in Russia before they had been on a class basis,
the community having been divided into groups; that there never has
been held a general election; this was to have been the first general
election in a country covering an enormous area and a large popula-
tion. Taking those facts into consideration, I think that those of us
who were there saw that it was a physical impossibility to have an
election earlier, always having in mind the need for taking every
precaution for the regularity of the elections.
It was just on the eve of the elections for the constituent assemblj'
that the Bolsheviki accomplished their coup d'etat. They had pre-,
viously advocated frankly in their papers the overthrow of the pro-
visional government and the jiassing of all power to the Soviets.
They were opposed to the idea of coalition, of cooperation between
the socialists and nonsocialists. or, to use other terminology, be-
tween the proletariat and the bourgeois elements. Tliey had op-
posed the proA'isional government on principle, and they had at-
tacked it specifically for certain policies, and they had advocated
that the .-oviets take over all political authority.
In the summer, in the time that I was there, the Bolsheviki did not
definitely abandon the idea of a constituent assembly. It was some-
times rather diihcult to reconcile their attacks on the Government for
postponing the constituent assembly with their other statement that
all power shoukl pass to the Soviets. It would seem that their idea
was to play one against the other. By November it was evident that
they had clecided to play the first point of their program, the taking
over of all power by the soviet, and that was what their coup d'etat
implied. The Soviets were to take over forcibly the government and
organize definitely a dictatorship of the proletariat for the iieriod of
transition to a new order of society, what they now call a socialistic
federated soviet republic.
Senator Overman. Who devised that scheme? Was it Lenine or
Trotsky, or more intelligent men than either of them ?
Mr. Harper. That would be difficult to sa}'. The two most out-
standing intellectual forces, the two deepest thinkers, the two best
known because of their records, are the two luen Lenine and Trotsky,
men who have been known in Russian revolutionary circles for a good
many years.
Senator Wolcott. Trotsky also?
Mr. Harper. Trotsky also. He was known as an active and promi-
nent participant in the revolution of 1905, that was referred to this
morning, and Lenine was prominent in the revolutionary movement.
Both of the men, because of conditions in Russia, had lived abroad.
33oth of them were writers and publicists, had written books, and had
94 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
contributed to — I believe they -were even editors of — newspapers,
organs representing the views of the Russian socialists.
The publications of the Russian socialists had to be printed abroad
during the last 1;) or more years. There had developed from a
verj' early period in Russian revolutionary movements, from the
fifties of the last century, what is known as the foreign press of
Russia, publications in Russian published abroad but intended pri-
marily for the Russian public, published abroad because of censor-
ship conditions in Russia, smuggled into Russia by various methods.
Lenine and Trotslry were prominent participants in this foreign
literature, and all of them debated and carried on polemics in regard
to the government. And in the congress of Russian socialist parties
Lenine and Trotsky were prominent.
Senator Overman. Did you know Lenine and Trotsky?
ilr. Harper. I did not know Trotskj- personally. I of course
know his writings, and I heard him speak on several occasions last
summer. I did not Imow Lenine personall}'. although of course I
had known of Lenine and of his name as far back as 1905.
Senator Overman. Were they peasants?
Mr. Harper. Xo ; Lenine came from what is generally translated as
the nobility class. That is hardly a correct translation. That is the
class that includes the landlord class, but it includes many who are
not landlords. Perhaps I could bring my point out more clearly by
saying that a man who gets a university degree is by that very fact
put into the nobilit}^ class though not hereditary nobility. The fact
that he was in the nobility class did not mean that Lenine was a land-
lord or was sympathetic with that class. It meant that he was not a
peasant. He was not a workman who had grown up from, the peas-
antry, because a workman, in the modern sense of the word, is a com-
paratively new phenomenon in Russia. Russia had serfdom until
1861, and before that there was a very small percentage of free hired
labor — wage earners. He Avas not a workman, nor a merchant regis-
tered as one of the merchant guild. He was not an artisan. lie was
in this other category, the nobility class.
Maj. HrrMES. Is it not a fact that his occupation during all his
life has been as an agitator? You have told us what he was not.
What was he, in other words?
Mr. Harper. His brother was involved in one of the earlier revo-
lutionar}' movements, and I know this simply from the accounts of
Lenine's history. The fact of his brother's past meant that he was
Avatched particularly when he was a student in the imiversity, and
was subjected to police surveillance and sujDervision, as a very large
percentage of the university students at that time participated in
student demonstrations against the existing form of government;
sometimes against the very severe regulations with regard to student
activities and student life. It would seem that from the very start he
was not only a socialist, but joined in the conspirative organizations
that existed among the radical element of the Russian educated
class — among university students particularly. He came to grief
because of his publication work, his writings, and had to leave. I
can not give the details. I believe he went to Siberia. Because of
his revolutionary activities in 1903, he was one of the well-knoAMi
thinkers and leaders of the Russian social democratic party. He was
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 95
living abroad because conditions in Kussia made it impossible for
him to reside there.
Maj. Humes. Let me ask the question in another way. How did
he make a living? Did he have a competency?
Mr. Harpee. I presume he made a living as a writer.
Maj. Humes. That was what I was trying to get at.
Senator Overman. What is his racial extraction?
Mr. Harper. He is a Russian ; a Slav.
Senator Overman. What is Trotsky?
Mr. Harper. A Russian Jew — of Jewish origin.
Senator Wolcott. What is this man Tchictherin ?
Mr. Harper. Tchitcherin, the present commisar of foreign affairs,
is a Russian Slav, also of the nobility class.
Senator Wolcott. These three men are all in the nobility class ?
Mr. Harper. I can not give you the exact past of Trotslcy. Legally
they were in the nobility class, but that meant simply from our
point of view that they were men of liberal education ; writers.
Senator Wolcott. The nobility class, with respect to them, simply
meant that they were educated ?
Mr. Harper. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. What universities were they from ?
Mr. Harper. I can not tell you.
Senator Wolcott. Russian universities ?
Mr. Harper. Yes.
Maj. Humes. IJ^roceed, Professor.
Mr. Harper. Shall I proceed on the question of the form of gov-
ernment ?
Maj. Humes. Yes.
Mr. Harper. They established, in November, this proletariat dicta-
torship under a definite program and tactics, to carry through the
period of transition for the establishment of the socialist federated
soviet republic. The theory of this soviet government — the soviet
form of government, has already been outlined bj^ Dr. Huntington.
For the period of transition, the bourgeois class was to have no right
to vote in the election of Soviets, or to be elected to Soviets. Only
those who labored were to have a vote. That did not exclude intel-
lectual thinkers, men who were in sympathy with the soviet idea, who
were ready to cooperate with the idea and lend to the soviet their
intellectual abilities. They were considered workers, but the consti-
tution provided definitely that those who derived income from the
exploitation of the labor of others, or from rents and profits, or in-
terest, were to be excluded from participation in the elections, and
were to be excluded also, it was definitely stated, from being elected.
Now, these Soviets were to be local and central. The country was
to be .covered with a network of Soviets built up from the smaller
units. The villages were to elect Soviets and delegates to the dis-
trict Soviets, which were in turn to send delegates to the Soviets of
the larger administration district, which was to send delegates to the
all-Russian congress of Soviets, which was to meet at certain inter-
vals. The constitution provides that it was to meet at least twice a
year. I believe since November, 1917, there have been six all-Russian
congresses which have been convened more frequently because of the
many problems during the transition period. These all-Russian con-
s
96 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
gresses of Boviets were to sit for as long as necessary to determine the
broader lines of policy of legislation on the more important sides of
public life, political, and economical, but they were not to be a per-
manent assembly. They were only to be, perhaps, periodically
convened policy-making bodies, constitution-making bodies. They
were to elect an executive committee which was to sit permanently
and act as a kind of permanent parliament, which was in constant
session.
The executive committee was responsible to the all-Russian con-
gress, which as I have said was to meet at least twice a year, and
has, in fact, met more frequently. The executive conmiittee is to
elect the commissars, or people's commissars, who correspond to the
heads of the government departments, and the chairman of the
councils of the people's commissars, who would in our Avestern par-
lance be called the prime minister of the government.
The local Soviets were to be allowed considerable freedom in the
administration of local affairs, but they were to follow in their local
administration the principles established by the resolutions of the
all-Russian congress of Soviets.
Senator OvEiniAN. Did they form a constitution?
Mr. Hakpee. The thii'd congress drew up certain general resolu-
tions for their organizations, and the fifth congress definitely voted
a ccnstitution. I ha\'e not seen that in the original, but I have seen
translations of that constitution which have .been published in
America in English.
That is the theory of the soviet government. The champions of
that theory point out that it provides for participation in local
and central affairs of the wcrkers, the peasantry, the workmen, and
(lio^c who have thrown in their lot with the working class.
Senator Overman. Is the soviet part of the Bolshevik goveriunent?
Is it one and the same thing?
Mr. Habper. In my opinion, it is one and the same thing. Efforts
have been made to point out that the Bolsheviki are simply a political
party as opposed to the institution .of the Soviets, and that at the
present moment they merely have the majority in the local Soviets
and in the central Soviets. The parallel is often drawn that the Soviets
are like a parliament of a western country, while the Bolsheviki are
simply the majority party in that parliament. But inasmuch as the
idea of turning over to the Soviets, all power of organizing the coun-
try on this soviet basis is the Bolshevik idea, opposing the idea of
the other socialists' pai-ties, and, of course, of the bourgeois parties.
In actual fact I do not see what distinction can be made between
the Bolsheviki and the Soviets. In July of last year, or June, dur-
ing the summer, we had in our American newspapers a report that
the Bolsheviki had definitely by decree expelled from the Soviets,
from the central soviet or executive committee, and had issued an
order of expulsion from the local Soviets, of all the social democratic
Mensheviki and the right social revolutionaries. I have not seen a
Eussian paper describing this fact in detail, though I have seen in
one of the Russian papers published in this country a summary of
the account of the meeting at which that decision was made, and I
accepted the statements of those persons that have come out and the
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 97
statements in this paper, as supporting the cable news that we had
on that point.
I state again that the Bolsheviki definitely expelled from the soviet,
from the executive committee of the soviet, and ordered the expulsion
from their local Soviets, of the right social revolutionaries and of
the Mensheviki social democrats, the pretext for the expulsion being
that the two groups were counter-revolutionists and were working
against the Soviets, and their presence therefore could not be toler-
ated. In fact, they were counter to a revolution of the Bolshevist
brand, not the revolution of March, 1917. One of the general facts
that we can accept is that the right social revolutionaries and the
Mensheviki have refused to go in with the Bolsheviki, and have
opposed them, and in view of the expulsion of these members, because
of their opposition to the program of the Bolsheviki and the use that
the Bolsheviki have made of the Soviets, or the way in which they
have worked out the soviet form of government, it seems to me that
one can not make a distinction between the Soviets and the Bolsheviki.
Maj. Httmes. Well, doctor j can you outline from your study of the
situation an authoritative opmion on the effect of the practical appli-
cation of the Bolshevik government to the life of Russia ?
Mr. Harper. I left Eussia, as I said, in September, 1917, before
the Bolsheviki came into power. Inasmuch as Russian political in-
stitutions is my subject, I have followed with the greatest care the
reports that have come out, either in our daily press, in the cable
reports, or in articles contributed to our press by men who have come
out from Russia. I have made it a point to talk with a great many of
our Americans who have come out of Russia or neutrals who have
come from Russia, and with Russians who have come out.
There have been two definite sets of statements with regard to what
one might call the fruits of Bolshevism. I tried to study as carefully
as possible those reports and, as I say, check up one statement against
the other. There are these two sets of statements. In a general way
one group says that the experiment is a great success ; a success in the
sense that it has the support of the workmen and peasants ; a success
in the sense that it is solving the economic problems of the country.
Those that make these statements admit the great difficulty of the first
months when there was the disorder, disorganization; a great deal
of it not made by the Bolsheviki, but the accumulation of a great
many decades of shortsighted policy of the old regime; a good deal
of it a result of the war burdens ; a good deal of it the inevitable re-
sult of the revolution of March, 1917.
As I say, the champions of the success of the experiment admit
these difficulties, but insist that the Bolsheviki, largely through the
support of the workmen and peasants, are solving these problems
and are going to be able to start in, if they have not already done so,
on constructive work.
The other set of statements gives a quite different picture. It
points out the increase in the economic disruption of the country,
and points out the failure of the efforts of the Bolsheviki leaders
to introduce constructive policies. The other set of statements points
out the beginning of the definite disillusionment of the masses of
workmen and peasants with this program that was to bring them
to the promised land, peace, and bread.
S572.'?— 19 7
98 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
As I say, naturally, I have been confused by these two conflicting
reports, and have had to weigh the one against the other, taking into
account the number that brought out one set of statements and the
number that brought out the other.
Senator Wolcott. That is the only thing you have taken into
account, the number?
Mr. Harper. Because of the wider field of observation.
Senator Wolcott. And the character of the witness?
Mr. Harper. I took into account the bias. If it was a business
man, I took that into account. If it was a man who had been in-
terested in radical movements, I recognized clearly that there was
a spiritual background to the revolution and a very definite back-
ground to the revolution of March, 1917, that appealed not only to
the radical but appealed to the liberal.
So I took into account that, and took into account of course my
own knowledge of the earlier conditions of Russia and what I had
seen up to September, 1917; and without hesitation, as a student,
I have come to accept the statements that, first, the economic con-
ditions in Eussia have become insuperably worse ; that the workmen
and peasants are suffering as a result of the further economic disrup-
tion of the country; that it is not simply the bourgeois that have
paid the cost of what I have considered an experiment, but that it
is the workmen and peasants that are paying that cost, and that they
are beginning to see that, though this Bolshevik program sounded
good, it has not proven good, and they are becoming disillusioned as
to the soviet and the Bolsheviki.
Senator Overman. What proportion of the Russian population do
you think is behind this Bolshevik movement?
Mr. PIarper. In percentages it is rather difficult to say, for the
total population. Now that the peasants have received more land,
I do not think they are back of the Bolshevik movement, the
political program, because it has not brought order or economic de-
velopment. I have had from a great many people the statement that
the peasants have definitely in certain districts kicked out the
Soviets, even the peasants in those districts that are in the area
controlled from a military point of view by the Bolshevik or cen-
tral Soviet; that they have kicked out the soviet because they did
not like the way it ran things. There was too much graft. And the
peasants have gone back to their former system of an elected elder.
The resentment of the peasants toward the Bolsheviki is of a more
definite character in those districts where the red guards have gone
to the peasant villages to seize the grain. I should sa,j, on the basis
of the information that has come to me, which I have gone over very
carefully, that the larger percentage of the peasantry has gone
against the Bolsheviki. The Bolsheviki recognized that the peasants
were interested first of all in land, and in their previous discussions
of how they would act if an opportune moment came, they definitely
stated that there would be this peasant antagonism toward their pro-
letarian dictatorship, but they definitely said that that antagonism
would be allayed by the turning over of the land, and they also had
the definite idea of stirring up in each village a class war between
the more prosperous elements of the village and the poorer elements
of the village. In the first decrees of the Bolshevik government they
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 99
never used tlie words " Government of the workmen." They used the
expression, " The workmen and the poor peasants." They made a
distinction between the more prosperous peasants of the community
and the poorer peasants, men who perhaps have no land of their own
because they had been unfortunate and were at the bottom of the
economic scale in that particular community.
Senator Overman. We are trying to get what is going on in this
country. Do you Icnow anything of Bolshevism in this cormtry — any
movement in this counti'y for Bolshevism?
ilr. Harper. May I define Bolshevism for myself?
Senator Overman. I would like to have it for myself.
Mr. Harper. As I have read the accounts with regard to Russia, and
talked with those who have come out, and heard speeches in regai'd
to Eussia by those who have come out, or read the discussion of the
Russian problem, this word " Bolshevism " has been used, in my be-
lief, to represent two distinct things. It has been used frequent^ to
mean a state of mind. I know before the Bolsheviki came'into power
in Russia, when the Bolsheviki were agitating in September, 1917, I
often heard the expression " The country is going Bolshevist. There
is a great deal of Bolshevism in this country?'
Senator Wolcott. Speaking of this country?
Mr. Harper. No; Russia. There was confusion of mind as to
how to solve the many problems. And I now read in our papers
with regard to America, about the spread of Bolshevism in the
United States. As I have discussed such a point where it has been
made, I find that they speak simply of confusion of mind as to
just liow we are going to solve the problems before us, problems of
our own. prnblcns with regard to the reconstruction, laroblems with
regard to the settlement of the war. In that sense I believe there is
a gi-eat deal of Bolshevism in the Ignited States.
Senator Wolcott. I want to say that I never' heard it used in
that sense, simply to express the idea that we do not clearly see our
future ancl how we shall solve the problems of the country.
Senator Overman. Why not look at it from the way we have been
treating it, the idea of overthrow of all the governments of the
world: not only the United States but other governments of the
world; chaos?
Mr. Harper. I have not heard, myself, any preaching of the doc-
trine of the Bolsheviki, the overthrow of the Government in Amer-
ica, as I heard it frankly preached by word of mouth and in the
press in Russia. I have read in their papers that the experiment in
Russia has been very successful and has been of the greatest interest
and the greatest value.
Senator Overman. What do you think about it?
Senator Wolcott. About the success of the experiment?
Mr. Harper. I consider that it has been a failure from the point
of view of the peasant and the workman ; that it has not brought
Senator Wolcott. It has also been a failure from the point of
view of national obligation — performing a national duty — has it not ?
Mr. Harper. It meant, of course, the withdrawal of Russia from
the war, because it was clear to such leaders as Kerensky that one
could not carry on the foreign war and an internal class war at the
same time. That was why Kerensky, for example, stood for the
100 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGAIirDA.
principle of coalition government on principle; not simply be-
cause of the existing conditions, but on the principle of cooperation
of the groups of the population. Now, the declaring of a class war
and the putting into practice of the principle of class warfare in-
evitably would lead to the withdrawal of Russia from participation
in ithe war in which Russia was then a participant.
Senator Overman. Doctor, we have what we call nihilists, anar-
chists, I. W. W.'s, socialists, and Bolsheviki in this country. You
have heard of those things. As a student and as a thinker, do you
see any relation between those five organizations?
Mr. Haepee. Nihilists is a name that has been used in a very loose
way to apply to all Russian revolutionists. There were in Russia
in the sixties, the last century, a group that were called by another
person, by a writer, nihilists. They never accepted the name, but
they were called by their opponents nihilists.
Senator Oveeman. Did not the Bolshevists come from the nihil-
ists?
j\Ir. Harper. There is the element of nihilism in the Bolshe^dki.
The nihilists about 1860 were the people that had gone through the
most oppressi^'e regime in recent times, the police regime of Nicholas
I, which had created in the younger generation the spirit of pro-
test. The Russian writer, Turgenev, spoke of them as " the Nihil-
ists." They represented this protest against the conditions of the
previous regime, of the previous reign. It was one of the most A'io-
lent of the protests, but it was in its first stage an intellectual move-
ment, a mental protest. It was only later that it developed into a
political movement, and many of those who were in the student or-
ganizations which were called by Turgenev " nihilists " later became
members of frankly revolutionary political organizations, such as the
land and liberty. There was a series of political parties, revolution-
ary parties, with different programs, from 1860 on.
Senator Overman. Is not that all developed in the Bolsheviki, the
protest and this fight for the majority, a fight against those that have,
to give to those that have not?
Mr. Haeper. There is this element of protest in Bolshevism; a
protest against the existing order, the injustice of the existing order.
Senator Oveeman. Is not that so with tha I. W. W. ?
Mr. Haepee. Yes.
Senator Oveeman. Is it not so with the socialists?
Mr. Haepee. A protest against the injustice of the existing order.
Senator Oveejian. So, then, there is a relationship between all five
of them, and most of them have the same flag?
jMr. Haepee. They have the same red flag, but they differ as to
program and as to tactics.
Senator Overman. They differ as to many things, but in basic
principles are they not the same?
ilr. Haepee. They represent a protest against what they consider
the injustices of the present organization of society. Some of them
go so far as to say that the present form of the organization of so-
ciety can not be corrected, and must be overthrown and replaced by
another.
Senator Oveeman. The uniting of those five great organizations
under the red flag in this country — do you consider it a menace ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 101
Mr. Harper. I think the fact that they use the red flag does not
imply any actual unity. Many men are socialists who are not Bol-
sheriki. The Bolsheviki say that a great many socialists are not true
socialists.
Senator Overman. You are a student and a thinker. What is the
reason that they all have this red flag?
Mr. Harper. The fii'st of the protests of this general character
came in the early half of the last century. They used the red flag. 1
think it is little more than a tradition, and I have always looked upon
the red flag as not the emblem of the Bolsheviki, the emblem of the
socialists, the emblem of the I. W. W., but as representing this men-
tal protest.
Senator O'verman. Does it not all at last come down to the idea of
revolution ?
Mr. Harper. The word " revolution " is used with a great many
qualifying adjectives, which are sometimes used to express ideas
which it usually fails very carefully to express. We have industrial
revolutions, political revolutions, and mental revolutions.
Senator Overman. Revolution against the Government; of course
that would mean industrial revolution.
Mr. Harper. Revolution in the sense of overthrow of the existing
form of government?
Senator Overman. Yes.
Mr. Harper. I do not think that can be said. Many men' call them-
selves socialists and recognize the red flag as the flag of socialism,
which will represent an effort to bring about changes of an economic
and sometimes purely political character within the existing political
order.
Senator Overman. What is the I. W. W. ? What is their idea ?
Mr. Harper. As far as I know, the program of the I. W. W. is to
attempt by direct action to bring pressure upon the existing authori-
ties for changes, but within the existing political system. I have not
read I. W. W. literature definitely advocating the overthrow of the
existing political order.
Senator Over:.ian. So that you think that there is no connection
between them by reason of the fact that they have this red flag, which
actually means a menace; no connection because they use a common
flag.
Mr. Harper. I think there is no connection. With regard to Rus-
sia I can say quite definitely that there are definite differences of
program and tactics.
Senator Overman. You do not think that there is much harm being-
done by the Bolshevists in Russia ?_
Mr. Harper. I do think there is an enormous amount of harm,
being done in Russia. But I consider that that experiment, this
venture tried on Russia, exhausted by the first three years of the
war, has cost the Russian people in wealth, in property, in values^
I should say, and in lives, enormously.
Senator Overman. Have you been over there to observe the condi-
tions of the prosperous ?
Mr. Harper. I have not been in Russia since September, 1917.
Ma'j. Humes. Doctor, are you familiar with any of the representa-
tions that are being made in this country by the Bolsheviki, as to>
102 BOLSHEVIK ±-±iu±-AViAiNUA.
whether or not they are true? In other words, is there a tendency
or an elioit on the part of boino agitatoro to inisrcprcsoiit the veal
facts, in tlioir literature or in their publications I
Mr. Harpek. It seoius to me that a general atatenient without luiy
background, ■without any filling in of detailed facts, that the Bol-lu>-
vik experinieiit hay lx»en a successful experiment, or if not entirely
successful, is a hopeful experiment, is not a true picture of what has
been going on in Russia since the Bolsheviki came into power. Ore
gets that very general statement that it is a hopeful experiment, and
one gets the more specific statement that it has been a suc.essful ex--
periment. developing that general idea by describing the election of
the Soviets, and not paying any attention to the statements that have
been published by Americans who have come out, by neutrals who
have come out, by Eussians, as to the methods used by the Bolsheviki
to control the elections.
Senator "Wolcott. And you say ynu do not agree with those state-
ments ?
Mr. Haeper. I do not agree with those statements on that basis.
In other words, I accept the other set of statements. It has been
very difficult to decide between those two sets of statements. As I
have said, it was my special study, and I have devoted my time and
what intelligence I have to the verification back and forth. I give
it as my personal opinion, based on a careful study, that the set of
statements with regard to the Bolshevik experiment, the set of st;ite-
ments that describe it as having cost the country enormously in
values, in lives, the set of statements that state that at last the
workmen and peasants have become disillusioned, and are opposed
to the soviet regime and the Bolshevik regime, that set of facts is the
one that I have accepted. Of course, we have had misstatements back
and forth. We have had a good niany exaggerated statements from
Russia, ' arried on our cables to the newspapers. We have had exag-
gerated statements or misstatements from both sides — from both
groups.
Senator OxT.nMx^. You do not think we are getting the truth
abou', Russia?
ilr. Harper. It is difficult, of course, in view of the chaos, to get
jdl the facts.
Senator Wolcott. Is there not one fact upon which they all agree,
that the Bolshevists have seized and confiscated property of indi-
viduals and have taken it over from the people, and run on a career
of theft and robbery ?
Mr. Harper. According to our conceptions here in this country, on
that point there is no difference of opinion. There is difference of
opinion as to the extent of the terrorism.
Senator Wolcott. Then, can there be any doubt in your mind that
that thing is an abominable failure, that it is a program of con-
fiscation.
Mr. Harper. When I speak of it as a failure, I qualify it to this
extent : That it has proven itself a failure for the Russian workmen
and the Russian peasants.
Senator Overman. You do not agree with the teachings of Lenine
and Trotsky, do you?
Mr. Haeper. I do not.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 103
Maj. Humes. Professor, you are familiar somewhat with political
parties and groups in Russia. What proportion of the Eussian
socialist movement do the Bolshevists represent?
Mr. Haepee. In June of 1917, in the first all-Russian congress, the
Bolsheviki were polling about 20 to 25 per cent, on certain occasions ;
on other occasions, less. That was in the all-Russian congress of
Soviets. In the Petrograd soviet, which was composed of the work-
riien of Petrograd and the garrison soldiers of Petrograd, the Bol-
sheviki had a majority. In Moscow the Bolsheviki were strong —
in the Moscow soviet. We have, then, certain votes on which to base
an estimate of the strength of the Bolsheviki as a party. The elec-
tion returns of the constituent assembly as a result of the elections
held during November, when the Bolsheviki were in power, would
indicate that the majority were against the Bolsheviki.
Maj. Humes. Now, Professor, we hear of persons who are advo-
cating Bolshevism in this country, or the recognition of the Bolshe-
vist government in this country, insisting upon even a greater free-
dom of press and freedom of speech in this country than we now
have. Do they, in their form of government, recognize the right of
freedom of the press and freedom of speech, or is it their policy to
deprive individuals of any of their rights that may be used to inter-
fere with their particular form of government and its activities ?
Mr. Haepee. They definitely state in their constitution that during
the period of transition they must protect themselves against those
whom they have thrown out, and that they can not allow the use of
freedom of the press. During the first weeks after the Bolshevik coup
d'etat a great many bourgeois papers continued to come out — ^a great
many non-Bolshevik and nonsocialist papers continued to come out.
I was able to get hold of many copies of papers published in Novem-
ber, 1917, in which the non-Bolshevist socialists attacked the Bol-
sheviki and spoke of them as adventurers and as traitors, so that
during these first months the non-Bolsheviki could express their
opinion. But my interpretation of that fact was that during those
first months the Bolsheviki did not have time or did not feel secure
enough to suppress freedom of the press. But now in no case, accord-
ing to the constitution, do they allow the publication of non-Bolshevik
articles.
Senator Ovekmax. You think they were justified in that, do you
not?
Mr. Haepee. No, sir.
Maj. Humes. Then they are advocating free speech and free press
in this country, but are not permitting it in their own country. That
is the first proposition that we can accept, is it not ?
Mr. Haepee. They complain that they are not getting an oppor-
tunity to present the facts of the situation to the American people. _
Senator Wolcott. They complain more than that. I read an arti-
cle in one of the Washington papers the other night, in which a man
was complaining that the criticism of this meeting that was held in
Poll's Theater Sunday night, I believe a week ago, was_a suppres-
sion of free speech ; that the very fact that they were criticized for
expressing their views constituted a .suppression of their constitu-
tional right.
Mr. Haeper. I do not follow the reasoning.
104 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
Senator Wolcott. I do not follow the reasoning, either. I think
it is nonsense. I am telling you what they claim. They claim more
than you stated a moment ago. If there is anybody on earth who
ought to stand abuse and criticism, it is that crowd.
Mr. Harper. The complaint that I have read is, first that the capi-
talistic press does not publish certain facts, certain statements in
regard to what is going on in Eussia, that come into their hands, and
that they publish without proper discrimination all sorts of reports
coming from all sorts of sources which are gross exaggerations, as
proven by later developments.
I think perhaps that there is no question that we have had in the
American press a good many misstatements with regard to Russia.
Just for an illustration that came to my attention, it was called to
my attention recently that a well known Eussian revolutionary
leader, Catherine Breshkovskaya, called, popularly, " The Grand-
mother of the Eussian Eevolution," was reported either killed or as
having died in prison several times in the course of the last year.
The other side also reported with regard to Catherine Breshkovskaya,
insisting that we were not getting the truth about Eussia. They
insisted that the press was simply sending these reports that Cath-
erine Breshkovskaya had been killed, in order to stir up antagonism
to the Bolsheviki. In an article written in a publication called " One
Year of Eevolution," printed in November, 1918, this other state-
ment is given, what the writer, Mr. Nuorteva, claims is the true state-
ment with regard to Catherine Breshkovskaya. [Eeading:]
Catherine Breshkovskaya has never been imprisoned by the Soviets. When
she died, — not of privation, but of old age, — the soviet government, although
she was its opponent on many questions of tactics and principles, gave her a
public funeral and hundreds of thousands of Moscow workers, members of the
soviet, turned out to pay their respects to " The Grandmother of the Russian
Revolution."
Senator Wolcott. Neither one of them is right.
Mr. Harper. I believe Catherine Breshkovskaya is coming to
Washington. I had several hours' talk with her in Chicago the
other day.
Senator "Wolcott. One said that she was killed, and the other said
she was given a respectable funeral by the Soviets, and both are
wrong.
Mr. Harper. But on the question of the use of terrorism, and on
the question of the confiscation of the property of the bourgeois,
there is no difference. There is no difference of opinion between these
two groups.
Senator Wolcott. No ; that is fundamental, of course.
Mr. Harper. One group will say that it is not against the taldng
over of property, and admit that there was a certain amount of ir-
regularity which we can characterize as looting ; and the other set of
statements, in covering this question of the confiscation of property,
says that it was irregular, mere seizure, mere legalized loot, and that
in many cases it was the bribe tliat gained temporary support for the
bolshevist program by workmen groups, peasant groups, and some
soldier groups.
Maj. Humes. To summarize for a minute, professor, as I under-
stand it from your outline of the present regime, we can gather this
conclusion : That in order to maintain themselves they are conducting
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 105
a reign of terrorism, keeping people in fear ; secondly, they are de-
priving people of the right of the press and the right of free speech,
and preventing them from getting information as to what is ac-
tually going on; thirdly, they provide for a compulsory military
service for their purposes ; they provide force for the disarmament of
everyone that is not in sympathy with their cause and does not belong
to the particular element with which they are affiliated, and of which
they are a part. Then to establish their control further in elections,
they have limited the right of suffrage as to the persons who have
been grouped, so as to prevent their overthrow in a popular election,
by way of disfranchisment, have they not?
Mr. Harper. Up to the last statement, the last point, every point is
supported by their own decrees or by provisions in their constitution.
Maj. Htjmes. The last statement is that they have, in order to make
it possible to control elections, disfranchised a considerable element
of the population.
Mr. Harper. By law they have disfranchised, of course, the bour-
geoisie.
Maj . Humes. Is that all ? I call your attention to this provision of
their constitution; if this is not disfranchisement I would like to
know what it is :
" The following persons, even if they should belong to any of the above-men-
tioned categories, may neither elect nor be elected :
" a. Persons using hired labor for the sake of profit."
That would include anyone that had anyone in their employ for the
purpose of conducting a business, as a merchant who had a clerk in
his employ.
Mr. Harper. He would be a bourgeois.
Maj. Humes. And the person who had a domestic would also be
deprived of the right of suffrage under that provision.
Mr. Harper. He is getting profit from the work of that individual.
Maj. Humes. Wherever help is necessary to conduct a business, it
contributes to the profit, does it not ? And those people are
Mr. Harper. Those would be the bourgeois classes.
Maj. Humes (reading) :
" Persons living on unearned increments such as : interest on capital, income
from industrial enterprises and property."
Now, everyone that has an unearned income is disfranchised?
Mr. Harper. Yes ; that is what they call the bourgeois class.
Maj. Humes (reading) :
"Private traders, trading and commercial agents;"
Whom does that include? That would include all persons engaged
in any undertakings as the representatives of individual concerns,
would it not? The salesmen class would be included in that, would
they not ?
Mr. Harper. Yes.
Maj. Humes. Would not merchants be included?
Mr. Harper. Certainly.
Maj. Humes. All merchants are traders?
Mr. Harper. That is directed against them.
Maj. Humes (reading) :
" Monks and ecclesiastical servants of churches and religious euUs."
106 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
^Ir. Hakpee. Yes; it is directed against them.
Maj. Humes. Well, then, the disfranchised include that element
of the population. It also includes the disfranchisement of clergy-
men and persons in the service of the church, does it not?
Mr. Harper. Yes.
Maj. HtJMES. It includes clei'gymen. Why?
Mr. Harper. I do not know just why they do.
Maj. Humes. They would not be comprised in the term "ser-
vants ■" ?
Mr. Hari^er. I have never seen any of their statements with regard
to the clergy except that clause Avhich you have read, in the accounts
with regard to Russia, and I do not know what reasons they give for
that.
Maj. HuJiES. I do not care about the reasons. We are talking
about the application of this thing and just what they are doing.
That includes the clergymen and the priests in the service of the
church. That would include even the janitor, under that class that
the constitution here disfranchises, would it not? We have all that
class eliminated from the Government?
Mr. Harper. As to the question of the janitor, if the house has been
taken over by the State, or by the local soviet, then the janitor be-
comes an employee of the Slate.
Maj. HuJiEs. We will disregard that.
Senator Wolcott. Let the janitor vote.
jMaj. Humes. Yes; we will let him vote.
Senator Overman. He is about the only man that can vote, so far.
Maj. HuTNiES (reading) :
" Employee.'! and agents of the former police, of the special corps of gen-
darmes and of branches of secret police departments, and also members of the
former reigning houst^ of Kussia."
Of course that relates to those that were connected with the mo-
narchical form of government^
Mr. Harper. It says " members of the secret police and of the
ruling house." That would not exclude necessarily, on that ground,
the landlord.
Maj. Humes. But as the landlord was receiving an income from
property, that would exclude him. Then, Mr. Harper, it is a fact,
is it not, that under the Soviet Eepublic, instead of giving universal
suffrage as is proclaimed from the platform by many advocates
of bolshevism, and b_v many newspapers that are supporting bol-
shevism, instead of creating uniA'ersal suffrage, instead of according
universal suffrage to persons over 18 years of age, men and women
alike, a very large percentage of the population is disfranchised,
is it not?
Mr. Harper. They do not, in the first place
Maj. Humes. Just answer the question.
Mr. Harper. A very large percentage.
Maj. Humes. Now, what percentage?
Mr. Harper. I should say that theoretically, according to this
law
Maj. Humes. It is not theoretical, it is practical. It is the consti-
tution.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 107
Mr. Harper. That would exclude at least 10 per cent. It would
not exclude — the difficulty in answering that question is because of
the status ol' the peasants after this nationalization of the land. If
a peasant, as was said this morning, had bought and owned land
Maj. Humes. How many peasants can operate any quantity of
land without having hired help ?
Mr. Harper. Very few.
, Maj. Humes. Then if they have hired help they are excluded
because of that fact, so that would exclude all the peasants that had
any considerable amount of land under cultivation.
Mr. Harper. That would exclude at least 10 per cent of the pop-
ulation, but it would not exclude more than 20 per cent of the popu-
lation. That is to say, after this exclusion, 80 per cent of the popula-
tion would have the right to vote.
Senator Overman. What class would be allowed to vote?
Mr. Harper. The peasants, the workmen, and those of the edu-
cated class who were not tillers of the soil or workmen in the fac-
tories but who had thrown in their lot with the workmen and the
peasants.
Maj. Humes. But how could a man in that class live unless he
had some income from interests or investments, or something of that
Mnd?
Senator M^olcott. As soon as he gets in that class he is disfran^
chisecl. In other words, is a man disfranchised who accumulates
enough property to get an education for himself: is he at once dis-
franchised by virtue of the other clauses of the constitution?
Mr. Harper. Of course, they have contended
Senator Wolcott. Is not that the practical application of it ?
Mr. Harper. They contend that as thej^ work out the system-
Senator Wolcott. I am not asking what they contend. I am ask-
ing what the facts are.
Mr. Harper. They have given up their property and have become
-\\ orkers, and are therefore eligible to vote and eligible to election.
Senator Overman. It is a pretty good constitution, you think, do
you not?
Mr. Harper. No.
Senator Wolcott. Now that industries are paralyzed, where are
those people working? There is no work, and where are they work-
ing?
Mr. Harper. That question I have often asked myself and have
put to a great many men with whom I have talked. How does the
country go on ? You know that the industries are not working, that
the means of transportation are breaking clown. The answer was
that there are accumulated goods, shelter and food on which the
industrial and urban populations still manage to exist. The peasants
have sufficient food of certain kinds. The peasants before the indus-
trial changes in Russia often supplied many of their needs, and manu-
factured articles through their household industries, and those in-
dustries are being developed so that the peasant does manage some
way or another to get enough cloth, and to hammer out enough iron
to put ends on his wooden plows, and the country is continuing to
exist, it is my opinion, on the accumulated goods, manufactured
goocls, and (On the f oad and shelter that is accumulated.
108 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Overman. It is a great country over there.
jMr. Harper. I have had statements from several men who left
there as late as October who said that in view of the conditions that
they saw in the cities, they do not believe that those urban centers
will be able to avoid literal famines and epidemics during these win-
ter months. Now, as to the extent of these famines and epidemics
in the last months we do not know, because our reports from Eus-
sia, particularly in the last month, have been very inadequate. ,
(Thereupon, at 5.45 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee ad]'ourned until
to-morrow, Wednesday, February 12, 1919, at 10..30 o'clock a. m.)
(The following was subsequently ordered inserted here in this
record, having been handed in too late for inclusion in the hearings
under Senate resolution 307:)
JIayoe Thompson's Pledge to United Societies.
expression op views by candidate for public office to the united societies
fob local self-govern itent.
The undersigned respectfully represents that he is a candidate for the office
Of Mayor on the Republican Ticket of the City of Chicago at the election to be
held, Tuesday April 6th, A. D. 1915.
That he favors and will promote in every way the objects for which the
United Societies for Local Si^lf-Government ^vere organized ; namely : Personal
Liberty, Home Rule, and Equal Taxation.
That he believes every citizen should be protected in the full enjoyment of
all the personal rights and liberties guaranteed him by the Constitution of the
United States and the State of Illinois.
And, that if elected Mayor of the City of Chicago, he will use all honorable
means to promote such objects :
1 : That he will oppose all laws known as " Blue Laws " and that he espe-
cially declares that he is opposed to a closed Sunday, believing that the State
Law referring to Sunday closing is obsolete and should not be enforced by the
City Administration. And that he is opposed to all ordinances tending to cur-
tail the citizens of Chicago in the enjoyment of their liberties on the weekly
day of rest.
2 : That he is in favor of " Special Bar Permits " until three o'clock A. M.,
being issued by the City of Chicago to reputable societies or organizations for
the purpose of permitting such societies to hold their customary entertainments.
3 : That as mayor he will use his veto power to prevent the enactment of any
ordinance which aims at the abridgment of the rights of personal liberty or is
intended to repeal any liberal ordinance now enacted, especially one repealing
or amending the " Special Bar Permit " ordinance now in force.
4: That he will oppose the further extension of the Prohibition Territory
within the City Limits, unless such extension is demanded by a majority of the
residents in a district in which, at least, two-thirds of the building lots arc
improved with dwelling houses.
5 : That he is unalterably opposed to having the Anti-Saloon Territory Law
extended to the City of Chicago.
6: I hereby declare, that I have not signed the pledge of the Anti-Saloon
League, any other so-called " Reform-Organization " and have not given any
pledge to any newspaper.
Chicago, March — A. D. 1915.
(Name) Wm. Hale Thompson,
(Address) 3200 Sheridan Rd.
Received and placed on file, iNIurch 20th, 1915.
Aman Beennan,
Se<yretary of the United Societies for Local
Self-Government and the Liberty League.
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1919.
United States Senate,
stnbcommittee of the committee on the judiciary,
Washington, D. C.
The subcdmniittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10.45 o'clock
a. m. in room 226, Senate Office Building, Senator Lee S. Overman
presiding.
Present: Senators Overman (chairman), King, Wolcott, Nelson,
and Sterling.
Senator Oveesian. Maj. Humes, whom do you desire the commit-
tee to hear this morning ?
Maj. Humes. We would like the committee to hear Mr. Simons.
TESTIMONY OF REVEREND MR. GEORGE A. SIMONS.
(The witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Maj. Humes. Doctor, where do you reside?
Mr. Simons. At the present time, in the parsonage of the Washing-
ton Square Methodist Episcopal Church, 121 West Fortieth Street,
New York City, of which church I am pastor.
Maj. Humes. When did you return from Russia?
Mr. Simons. On October 6, 1918.
Maj. Humes. In what work were you engaged in Russia?
Mr. Simons. As superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Petrograd, Russia.
Maj. Humes. For how long a period of time had you been in
Russia ?
Mr. Simons. Since the fall of 1907.
Maj. Humes. Now, Doctor, this committee desires to secure infor-
mation with reference to conditions in Russia and the practical op-
eration of the existing government in Russia. If you would prefer
in your own way to go ahead and make a statement of those facts, you
may proceed in that way.
Mr. Si3roNS. I think you better ask me some of the main questions
in your mind, and then, as I find that there are things necessary to be
'elaborated, I will give you whatever data I have at my disposal.
M'aj. Humes. Well, JDoctor, were you in Petrograd at the time of
the March revolution ?
Mrr Simons. I was.
Maj. HuJiES. What was the nature of the revolution? Was it a
socialistic revolution?
Mr. Simons. You are referring to the
Maj. Humes. The so-called Kerensky revolution.
Mr. Simons. That is, of the winter of 1917?
Mai. Humes. Yes.
110 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Simons. I received the impression that it was partly socialistic.
It started with large parades of workingmen clamoring for bread
when most of them were getting not only sufficient bread but more
than enough, and the object of all that, so most of us understood, ^Yas
to bring on a revolution. Of course, Rasputin had been already put
out of the way.
Senator Wolcott. By the way, he was a monk, was he not ?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; a very illiterate man ; uncouth ; rough.
Senator Wolcott. Was he supposed to be a German agent ?
Mr. Simons. We have had all kinds of statements about Easpiitin
having been a pro-German, and the Czarina being pro-German. I
have no direct evidence, but the people that claimed that both the
Czarina and Rasputin were pro-German are well qualified to stand
as truth-loving persons. Some of them are well-known editors; and
some of the finest people that I have become acquainted with in Rus-
sia maintained that the Czarina and Rasputin both were pro-German.
Senator Xelson. "Were you then at Petrograd when he was killed?
Mr. SiJioxs. I was.
Senator Xelson. As I understand it, he was inveigled to the house
of a certain member of the royal family, a prince somebody — I can
not think of his name — and there he was killed.
ilr. Simons. Yes; certain members of the Russian nobility assassi-
nated him.
Senator Xelson. The man to whose house he was inveigled and
killed was connected either by blood or marriage with the royal
family, as I understand it.
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Maj. Humes. Well, Doctor, after this re\olution was successful,
what was the condition in Russia up to the time of the November
revolution ?
Mr. Simons. Under the provisional government it was quite ap-
parent that different political groups were working with might
and main to get the upper hand, and they had, roughly speaking,
over 20 different political groups. I have a document which came
out at the time of the Bolsheviki revolution, showing the program
of the various parties. I had it translated and copies of the transla-
tion given to our embassy in Petrograd, and also our consulate, and
one copy was sent, I think, to the Department of State in Washing-
ton, as I recollect. Very near the end of this list of groups we found
the Bolsheviki, as they call them. I have the thing here, and have
gone through it, and it simply bears out the statement which has
been made in many books on Russia and the Russians, that when
you have a thousand Russians the chances are that you M-ill have at
least one hundred different groups among these Russians.
I have spoken with people who have traveled widely in Russia,
even in religious circles, and they say it is very amusing that ifi one
village of a thousand people. Baptists Sectanti, they have not less
than twelve different Baptist groups. It is a peculiarity r>i the
Russian mind and psychology, and it is my contention that if there
had not been such a large number of political parties Kerensky might
have won the day with a provisional government.
Soon after we noticed a pro-German current quite marked
Senator Wolcott. Soon after when?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. Ill
^Ir. Simons. After the great revolution of the winter of 1917.
Senator Wolcott. In March?
Mr. Simons. Let us say it made itself felt within two months. I
can not tell you just when Trotsky and Lenine came in. I have no
data here.
Senator Wolcott. You speak of the revolution of the winter of
1917. We had it referred to yesterday as of March, 1917. Is that
what YOU mean by the winter of 1917, along about March?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. I did not want any confusion in the time.
Mr. Si3ioNS. They had the old calendar system there, which is 13
days behind ourg.
Senator Nelson. It culminated in March?
Mr. SiMoxs. Yes; the new style, I should say. We then soon
noticed that whereas at the beginning of the- so-called new regime
there was a disposition to glorify the allies and to make a great deal
of what the French Revolution had stood for; within from six to
eight weelis there was an undercurrent just the opposite, and things
began to loom up in a pro-German Avay.
I could not bring any of my papers that we had collected over
there along, because everything .was examined as we passed the
border — the Russian- Finland border — last October, but in our church
archives we have all these papers, and we have saved every scrap;
and I think at least 50 of my friends have collected data for us.
Senator Nelson. Let me call your attention to this. Was it not
one of the first acts of ^^hat we call the Kerensky government to issue
a general pardon to offenders?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And did not that result in bringing back Lenine
from Siberia?
Mr. Simons. Lenine, as you recall, did not come from Siberia,
but came from another part of Europe, passing through Germany.
Senator Nelson. But he Tiad been gent to Siberia ?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. He had been sent to Siberia either as a convict,
or had been deported, and he came back by way of Switzerland and
Germany.
Mr. Simons. Well
Senator Nelson. Do you not know that?
Mr. Simons. We knew that he came from Switzerland.
Senator Nelson. With German passports?
Mr. Simons. With German passports, and the Germans expe-
dited his transit, and the exit of those who came into Russia at the
time when this movement had already been under way.
Senator Wolcott. Which movement had been under way?
Mr. Simons. The movement which became known as the Bol-
shevik movement.
Senator Wolcott. Well, you do not mean that he came in after
this pro-German undercurrent had developed ? Did he come after
the appearance of that pro-Germanism, or before?
Mr. Simons. He came while that thing was growing.
Senator Wolcott. And, of course, he did not try to stop it any,
did he?
112 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
IMr. SisroNs. Kerensky was spending a good deal of his time run-
ning up and down the front, trying to hearten the B,u=;sian soldiers
in their warfare, and he was generally accredited with being a fine
orator and doing splendid work, and I do not doubt but what he
did manage to keep the men longer than they otherwise would have
stayed in, but we were told there were hundreds of agitators who
had followed in the trail of Trotsky-Bronstein, these men having
come over from the lower East Side of New York. I was sur-
prised to find scores of such men walking up and down Xevslty.
Some of them, when they learned that I was the American pastor
in Petrograd, stepped up to me and seemed very much pleased that
there was somebody who could speak English, and their broken Eng-
lish showed that they had not qualified as being real Americans;
and a number of these men called on me, and a number of us were
imjDressed with the strong Yiddish element in this thing right from
the start, and it soon became evident that more than half of the agi-
tators in the so-called Bolshevik movement were Yiddish.
Senator Nelsox. Hebrews?
Mr. Siiiox'.s. They were Hebrews, apostate Jews. I do not want
to say anything against the Jews, as such. I am not in sympathy
with the anti-Semitic movement, never have been, and do not ever
expect to be. I am against it. I abhor all pogroms of whatever
kind. But I have a firm conviction that this thing is Yiddish, and
that one of its bases is found in the East Side of New York.
Senator Nelson. Trotsky came over from New York during that
summer, did he not?
Mr. Simons. He did.
Senator O^teehiax. You think he brought these people with him?
Mr. Simons. I am not able to say that he brought them with him.
I think that most of them came after him, but that he was responsible
for their coming.
Senator Over Ji an. Do you know whether the Germans furnished
them any money to come?
Mr. Simons. It was generally understood that Lenine and Trotsky
had been financed by the German Imperial Government. Docu-
ments were afterwards issued showing that these leaders of the
Bolshevik movement had received German funds. Mr. Nicholas A.
Zorin, a personal friend of mine, who is the vice president of the so-
called society for promoting mutual friendly relations between Eus-
sia and America, worked out a treatise, as he called it, showing that
the German Imperial Government was backing this thing, and he
had gotten hold of certain documents, and he issued this thing
privately, and scores of copies were sent to us for distribution.
These were mimeograph copies. I could not bring one over with me,
but I suppose the contents of his treatise are kno'\^■n to the State
Department, because I handed copies to our embassy and our
consulate.
Senator Nelson. Have you got copies yourself, at home?
Mr. Simons. No; I did not dare to bring that across the border,
because it might incriminate me.
Senator Nelson. We ought to get that document and put it in
the record.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 113
Mr. Simons. I think you will find a copy in the Russian division,
of the State Department. I am pretty sure they have one.
Senator Overman. It would be a very remarkable thing if the
Bolshevik movement started in this country, financed by Germans,
would it not?
Mr. Simons. I do not think the Bolshevik movement in Russia
would have been a success if it had not been for the support it got
from certain elements in New York, the so-called East Side.
Maj. Humes. Doctor, you have referred to Lenine coming from
Siberia through Switzerland. Is it not a fact that Lenine went from
Siberia to Switzerland about the time or shortly before the out-
break of the European war in 1914, and Avas in Switzerland from
that time up until the time he returned to Russia?
Mr. Simons. I have not paid particular attention to that phase of
Lenine's career. I only know he was given the privilege by the
German Imperial Government to have a hasty transit through Ger-
many, and that they evidently seemed to be very anxious to get him
as quickly as possible over to Russia.
May I state at this juncture that before the outbreak of the war —
that is, before Russia entered into the war — we were apprised, and
it is a fact, that hundreds of thousands of rubles had been put at the
disposal of certain labor leaders in St. Petersburg, as it was then
known, to create a strike in the factories. A large number of fac-
tories in Petrograd, as well as in Moscow and other parts of Russia
near these large centers, have been controlled by British and Ger-
man capital. It was apparent at that time that Germany was trying
to cripple Russia economically by getting her into the throes of an
awful strike. I have spoken with men who were high up in official
life in Petrograd, and they said they had proofs. The thing after-
wards came out in the Russian press, and, of course, there was a
very strong anti-German feeling there as the result of that. Well,
that strike did not prove successful because the old regime had so
much power that it succeeded in squelching it.
I have noticed again and again in Russia that there is a strong
German element there. I gave a copy to our ambassador. Gov.
Francis, of a so-called German yearbook which was suppressed, as
well as a German daily newspaper, the oldest newspaper, so they
claim, in all Russia, which was suppressed soon after Russia's en-
trance into the war, and when the Bolsheviki came into power all
these things were started up again. German papers were not only
published, and everything that was German and pro-German fos-
tered, but we also knew that at the outbreak or before the outbreak
of the Bolshevik revolution of October, 1918, there were several Ger-
man officers in the seat of the Smolny government, so called.
There were two institutes « that had that name, and one of the
buildings Lenine and Trotzky and their forces took even while
Kerensky and the provisional government were governing, and one
of the oldest teachers in the Smolny Institute had occasion to
come over to the building where the Bolsheviki now had their
guns, doing their work of propagandizing the Russian j)roletariat.
She is a lady over 50 years of age, and had been teaching in the
Smolny Institute, I presume, over 20 years, and has been attending
our church for about 10 years, and is related to some of the most
114 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
distinguished Eussians. She came to see me and said, " I have had
an opportunity, because of being a teacher in the Smolny Insti-
tute, to visit certain rooms in the building now occupied by the so-
called Bolshevik government. I have seen with my own eyes Ger-
man officers sitting at the long table around which sat the leaders
of the Bolshevik movement. I have heard German spoken there.
Because they believed in me I have had the privilege of passing
through certain rooms, having to take certain things over for our
teachers and our pupils, and what not, and several times I have
noticed German documents on the table, with the German stamp'';
and one time she told me that she had become impressed by one thing
in the Smolny Institute, that more German was being used there
than Russian. It may be she heard Yiddish, because Yiddish is
partly German. It seems strange to me, but when you talk with the
average man from the lower East Side he is not going to speak
English or Russian, but he is going to speak Yiddish. It may be
that she heard Yiddish and thought that she heard German; but
anyway, that was her testimony.
Senator Nelson. The Yiddish language is distinct from the He-
brew?
Mr. Simons. It is German. It is a mistum compositum.
Senator Nelson. It is a mixture of Hebrew and German, is it not?
Mr. SiMONSif There are some Slavic terms, some Russian, and somB
Polish iii it, and it may have some English, too. The Yiddish that
is spoken on the East Side of New York has ever so much of the Eng-
lish in it, and the Yiddish that is spoken in Petrograd, Moscow, War-
saw, and Odessa, would have quite a lot of Russian in it.
Senator Overman. This institute was the nest, the beginning, of
this government, was it not? That was where it started, was it not?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. You have made one statement here which to me
is very interesting, largely because it may be intensely significant.
Some time back in your testimony you said that it was your con-
tention that if it were not for these elements that had come from
the East Side of New York City, the Bolsheviki movement would
have been a failure. That to me is very interesting, because if it is
true it is very significant. There are many people in this country, I
think — I am sure there are many people— ^who rather look upon this
Bolsheviki movement as just a passing fad, and of no deep signifi-
cance ; but, of course, if the success of this monstrous thing m Russia
is due to the men who came out of New York City, then this country
has not anything to deal with that is trifling, at all.
Now, because of the very significance of that, can you tell us any-
thing in the way of detail that leads you to the conviction that the
presence of these East Side people in Russia contributed to the suc-
cess of the Bolsheviki movement ?
Mr. Simons. The latest startling information, given me by some
one who says that there is good authority for it — and I ani to be
given the exact figures later on and have them checked up properly
by the proper authorities — is this, that in December, 1918. in the
northern community of Petrograd, so-called — that is what they call
that section of the Soviet regime under the presidency of the man
known as Mr. Apfelbaum — out of 388 members, only 16 happened to
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 115
be real Russians, and all the rest Jews, with the exception possibly
of one man, who is a negro from America, who calls himself Prof.
Gordon, and 265 of the members of this northern commune govern-
ment, that is sitting in the old Smolny Institute, came from the lower
East Side of New York — 265 of them. If that is true, and they are
going to check it up for me — certain Eussians in New York who have
been there and investigated the facts — I think that that fits into what
you are driving at. In fact, I am very much impressed with this, that
moving around here I find that certain Bolsheviki propagandists are
nearly all Jews — apostate Jews. I have been in the so-called People's
House, at 7 East Fifteenth Street, New York, which calls itself also
the Rand School of Social Science, and I have visited that at least
six times during the last eleven weeks or so, buying their literature,
and some of the most seditious stuff I have ever found against our
own Government, and 19 out of every 20 people I have seen there ha^e
been Jews.
And as I move around to give my lectures, usually I am pursued by
Bolsheviki propagandists, and in one big church in New York I was
interrupted, on the east side of the church — it so happened that they
were sitting on the east side of the church — by two Bolsheviki agita-
tors. I suppose they were agitators because they tried to agitate
while I was giving my lecture on Russia, and they grumbled and
growled, and the assistant pastor stepped up to them and tried to
calm them, and they instantly remarked to him — I hate to repeat it,.
but if you want to know I will tell you — " Everything that man says
is a damn lie." When the pastor assured them that that language
was not quite proper in the church, and so on, and asked them to
speak with the speaker himself afterwards, they said it was no use
speaking with him, " He knows nothing. But this book will tell you
all about the thing, and give you the truth," and they handed him
this book bj' Albert Rhys Williams, " 76 Questions and Answers on
the Bolsheviki and Soviets," and he turned it over to me.
On several other occasions men have tried to disturb our meetings^
using this pamphlet of Williams.
I have analyzed certain questions and answers, especially with re-
gard to this paragraph on religion, and I have no doubt in my mind
that the predominant element in this Bolsheviki movement in America
is, you may call it, the Yiddish of the East Side.
Senator Wolcott. You said that you met many of these New York
East Siders on the streets in Petrograd, did you not?
Mr. Simons. I met a number of them on the Nevsky Prospect in
Petrograd, yes; and spoke with them, and a number of them have
visited me.
Senator Wolcott. That was how long ago ?
Mr. Simons. That was, I should say, well, along in, I think, June-
and July. I have all these things checked up over in Petrograd, but
they are put away in a trunk just now in the embassy, so, of course,.
if i do not strike a date right
Senator Wolcott. Approximately.
Mr. Simons. I should say it was just before they made their first
attempt in July, 1917, to oust Kerensky, but he had enough strength
to put them down.
Senator Wolcott. Are you able to say whether or not the appear-
ance of these East Side New Yorkers, these agitators, was a sudden;
116 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
appearance there ; did they seem to come all at once, a flock of them,
so to siJeak, or had they been around, but just started to talk^
iNIr. SiJioxs. I was impressed with this, Senator, that shortly after
the great revolution of the winter of 1917 there were scores of Jews
standing on the benches and soap boxes, and wliat not, talking until
their mouths frothed, and I often remarked to my sister. " "Well, what
are we coming to, anyway? Tliis all looks so Yiddish." Up to that
time we had very few Jews, because there was, as you may know, a
restriction against having Jews in Petrograd ; but after the revolution
thev swarmed in there, and most of the agitators happened to be
Jews. I do not want to be unfair to them, but I usually know a Jew-
when I see one.
Senator Overman. You mean they are apostate Jews ?
^Ir. Simons. Apostate Jews; yes.
Senator Wolcott. You mean Christianized Jews?
Mr. Simons. No, sir.
Senator Wolcott. What do you mean by the term '' apostate " ?
Mr. Simons. An apostate Jew is one who has given up the faith of
his fathers or forefathers.
Senator Wolcott. But he lias not accepted any other ?
JMr. Simons. He has not accepted any other, except the Bolslievik
faith or anarchistic faith, whatever it may be.
Senator O^'erjian. AVere any of these men you met over there
afterwards promoted by Trotsky or his people in the cabinet?
]Mr. Simons. Some weelcs before 1 left Petrograd 1 became quite
well acquainted with one member of the Soviet government, who was
the commissar of the post and telegraph, Sergius Zorin, and I tried
to get a dictum from him as to what would happen to me if I stayed
there, inasmuch as a decree had been issued by the Soviet government
that all subjects of allied countries remaining in Russia, from 18 to
45 years of age, would be considered as prisoners of war. Our em-
bassy had urged all Americans residing in Russia, in the fall of
1917 and the winter of 1918, to leave that territory. Finally, Consul
Poole, who was in Moscow up to about the middle or end of Septem-
ber, 1918, wrote a letter to me stating that the American Government
demanded that all American citizens should leave Russia immedi-
ately, and that I should use whatever influence I had with the other
Americans in Petrograd to have them leave also.
1 then and there decided that I ought to find out just what would
happen in case 1 could not get out — wliat would happen to me and
my sister. I was not quite 45, but was within six months of my forty-
fifth birthday, and I wanted to get from some of these commissars
what they would do to me. The president of the northern commune
section would not receive me. They told me he was not receiving
anybody, that he was strongly guarded, and never slept in the same
room twice.
Senator Nelson. What was his name?
Mr. Simons. Apfelbaum. That is his real name, but his assumed
Russian name, like many of them, is Zinovyetf. His real name is
Apfelbaum.
Senator Nelson. That means apple tree, does it not ?
Mr. Simons. Yes. But his second or third secretary — they were
all Jews there — referred me in a rather vague way to any other com-
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 117
missar that I might see. There had been threats made to kill not
only Lenine and Trotsky, but Apfelbaum, and just prior to that
another man, who, as was said, held the lives of all of us in his hands,
and who was responsible for the killing of so many people without
even a trial given them, was assassinated by a Jew. There was
an awful terroristic atmosphere in Petrograd, and we were expect-
ing still worse things to happen every day. With a view to finding
out what my real status quo was in Soviet tei'ritory, and not having
had any success with Mr. Apfelbaum, I Avent to the commissar of
the post and telegraph, Sergius Zorin. I had learned that he had
come from New York, whei'e he had spent eight years.
Senator Nelson. What was his real name?
Mr. Simons. I never asked him, but Avhen I called on him — I will
get up to that point presently — he told me that so long as the Ameri-
can troops did not take the offensive on Russian territory, we Ameri-
cans residing in Russia would not be considered prisoners of war.
I cabled that immediately to our authorities in New York, through
the Norwegian Legation, who had the protection of American citizens
and interests in Russia at that time.
Senator Nelson. Did he speak to you in English, this man?
Mr. Simons. He spoke in English. His English was quite fair.
Senator Nelson. He had come from this country ?
Mr. Simons. He had been in this country.
Senator Nelson. From the East Side?
Mr. Simons. I imagine so.
Senator Wolcott. How do you spell his name ?
Mr. Simons. Sergius Zorin, the commissar of the post and tele-
graph. Commissar Zorin was very gracious, not only to me but
also to Capt. Webster,' with whom he soon after became acquainted,,
who was the head of the American Red Cross mission to Russia,
While discussing different things Zorin told me that he was anxious
to hear from his brother, a certain Alexander Gumberg, who he
said was the secretary of Col. Raymond Robins.
Senator Nelson. Where was he?
Mr. Simons. He had left Russia, and Zorin was anxious to hear
something from him. He said he had not heard from him for a
long time, so he asked me if I, getting any papers from the outside
or any mail, could get any word out to his brother. I said I would
be glad to do that for him, and I wrote a letter to that effect to
Col. Robins, which I believe he has never received. When last
I met him he said he had not received it.
Senator Nelson. Who is this Col. Robins?
!Mr. SiMoxs. Col. Raymond Robins was identified with the Ameri-
can Red Cross missimi ito Russia.
Senator Nelson. Was he there in Russia, or here?
Mr. Simons. At the tim.e I was speaking with Mr. Zorin he vas
here in Amerirn, and Mr. Zorin spoke of him highly and said that
he was the greatest American of all, and he hoped that he would
be ambassador to Russia. , , .„ . -r.
Senator 0-\terman. He is the chairman of the Progressive Party,
is he not, Raymond Robins?
Mr SiMoxs. I do not know very much about him, except what i
have seen in Who's Who. I had always thought highly of Mm
118 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
until he came over to Russia and embarrassed our embassy in many
ways and got into the press, and our ambassador was obliged to
come out again and again with certain statements, and finally the
unpleasant controversy, if we may call it such, Avas brought to an
end by a statement made by Ambassador Francis that he and Col.
Eobins were friends, and he did not know who Avas trj'ing to cause
enmity between them, or something to that effect, and he hoped now
that this thing would be put at an end.
I read all those things in the Russian press, and we felt very much
distressed over it. because we thought that our ambassador, who was
doing such magnificent work over there, ought to have the support
of every last American. There was no reason why anybody should
pose even as a candidate, so called, for the ambassadorship to the
Soviet government.
Senator "Wolcott. AVhat was the nature of the controversy that
you speak of between the ambassador and Mr. Robins, that was pub-
lished in the papers?
Air. Simons. I have not the papers here. I think Prof. Harper
is probably in possession of those papers, or they must have them in
the Russian division of the Department of State.
Senator "Wolcott. Can you not tell us in a general waj' what it
was?
Mr. SiAiONS. As I recall the whole thing, the Soviet government
was feeling very strongly about the attitude which the allies and
America, for that matter, had taken in regard to the Lenine-Trotsky
regime in not recognizing them, and withdrawing their representa-
tives, their ambassadore, and so on, and Gov. Francis issued, several
times, messages in the Russian press to the Russian people assuring
them of the good will of America, and so on; and coming out very
plainly with this statement, that the Brest-Litovsk treaty would not
be recognized at the peace conference, and in our Thanksgiving
service in the American church in Petrograd in November, 1917, the
ambassador said a similar thing. I have a copy of that speech.
There were quite a number of distinguished Russians present, and
that speech of his irritated the Bolsheviki very much.
Then, his Fourth of July message, which was given in Vologda,
on the 4th of July, 1918, distressed them very much, too. That was
afterwards printed in thousands of copies in Russian and widely
circulated, and Gov. Francis in that message, of course, even more
strongly than ever stated that the Brest-Litovsk treaty would not be
recognized at the peace conference, but that America would stand
by the Russian nation and had a real affection for the Russian nation.
1 am only quoting in a general way, because I have not the data here
before me.
Col. Robins was quoted again and again as being the typical
American, having been a workingman himself, having been down in
the mines, and whatnot, and he knew the needs of the laboring people,
the laboring element, and so on; and then our Ambassador Francis
was placed as being a typical capitalist, and they rang off a good deal
of that, and he was persona non grata with the Bolsheviki officials
for that reason. The criticisms against the Root mission were just
along that same line.
Senator Wolcott. Was all that accompanied by the suggestion
that Mr. Robins ought to be ambassador ?
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 119
Mr. Simons. That came out again and again,- that he really was
going to be, and he ought to be, the American ambassador to the
soviet government.
Senator WoLCOTr. Is that what Mr. Apfelbaum wanted, too ?
Mr. Simons. I have not spoken with Mr. Apfelbaum.
Senator Wolcott. I mean the other fellow.
Mr. Simons. Mr. Zorin?
Senator Wolcott. Yes.
j\Ir. Simons. Zorin was very enthusiastic about that proposition.
Then he asked me if I could get in touch with his brother, Alexander
Gumberg, who was supposed to be with Col. Robins somewhere in
America ; but when I came here I did not find him. I was told that
he had gone back to Europe, and possibly was going to Russia.
Senator Overman. Did Robins make any statements over there,
showing he was ambitious for this place and was siding with the
Soviet government?
Mr. Simons. He was reported as having said certain things, but I
am not in a position to say that he really made those statements. I
only know this much : There was a strong feeling on the part of the
real Russian element against this thing. It became very nauseating
to the people who really had admiration for America, and for our
own American representative. Gov. Francis, whom I esteem most
highly, as also his staff. I think we were most fortunate in hav-
ing those men over there. I do not know any finer set that we ever
had.
Senator Nelson. Now, to bring you back to the chronological order
of events, after Kerensky got in charge of the government, he at-
tempted to prosecute the war against the Germans, did he not ?
Mr. Simons. Kerensky, I believe, was sincere in that.
Senator Nelson. He carried that on for a while, and was success-
ful, until finally the Russian Army got demoralized and insisted on
controlling their officers and everything else, and refused to fight,
is not that true ?
Mr. Simons. That is true.
Senator Nelson. Do you know anything about how that movement
demoralizing the army was inspired; by what element?
Mr. Simons. I have heard from somebody recently, and I could
check it up within a few days, 'that there was one American in the
Y. M. C. A. that actually saw German money being passed over from
the German front to the Russians.
Senator Nelson. Among the Russian soldiers ?
Mr. Simons. And to the men who were authorized to receive the
money for propagandist purposes.
Senator Nelson. Among the Russian Army ?
Mr. Simons. Yes; and I do happen to know that soon after the
great revolution of the winter of 1917 tens of thousands of copies of
the communist manifesto, in Russian, were circulated among the
Russian soldiers. It contained the official program of the Bolsheviki.
That is the communist manifesto, and this is the thing that made the
Lenine-Trotsky propaganda successful over there. This is an Eng-
lish translation.
Senator Nelson. Was not the collapse of the Russian Army, and
the demoralizing of that army, by which the soldiers refused to
120 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
fight, and even went over to the enemy, one of the means of helping
Trotsky and Lenine to get control of the Go\-ernment?
Mr. Simons. Most assuredly.
Senator Overmax. And did these Yiddish from the East Side, who
Avere there assisting Lenine and Trotsky, discuss this question of
Bolshevism with you, or how did they impress you ?
Mr. Simons. They were very guarded, because they knew that as
a 100 per cent American, and as a Christian clergyman, I would not
be in sympathy with the ideals and spirit, and the means which they
were thinking of employing; but when I spoke with these men I
always told them that our Methodist Episcopal Church in America,
in the general conference of 1916, had passed very fine resolutions
with regard to labor reform, and what not, and that ours was really
the people's church. I had said that, and said also that I was a
Christian Socialist, of course reserving for myself the definition. I
am a Christian Socialist in the sense that every Christian who takes
the New Testament as his ideal would be, standing very much where
Charles Kingsley and Morris stood, believing not in revolutionary
socialism, but evolutionary socialism, taking the Sermon on the Mount
of Christ, and the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, as the
ideal, believing that not by force but by moral persuasion shall we
really succeed in making a brotherhood out of the Avhole human race.
Senator King. You recognized that a brotherhood was compatible
with the maintenance of orderly government ?
Mr. Simons. I certainly would.
Senator King. And your ideal of Christianity did not mean the
subversion of government?
Mr. Simons. First, last, and all the time I stood for Avhat we con-
sider the most ideal government the world has ever had, the Govern-
ment of the United States of America ; and I had no sympathy at
all with the red flag propagandists.
Senator King. You believed in a government that recognized the
right of contract, the right of acquisition and the possession of prop-
erty, and all those personal rights which we enjoy under our repre-
sentative form of government?
Mr. Simons. I certainly do.
Senator King. You believe in this form of government?
Mr. Simons. I certainly do.
Senator King. You do not believe in any socialism which has for
its object the destruction of our form of government?
Mr. Simons. I absolutely repudiate all that.
Senator King. So your classifying yourself as a Christian So-
cialist does not mean an opposition to our form of government?
Mr. Simons. Wlien I say Christian Socialist I mean that I take
that tenn and I put it as high as it ever could be put, taking the
teaching of Jesus Christ Avith regard to the principle of the father-
hood of God and the brotherhoocl of man, standing by what Christ
taught, the very best kind of socialism the world could ever hope
for. That is Avhere Kingsley and Morris stood. That is where I
think every real man would stand who knoAvs anything at all about
the New Testament. If, of course, they had known what I had back
in my mind, they would not have recognized me even as a tenth-
rate Socialist.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 121
Senator Nelson. You were there Avhen the treaty of Brest-Litovsk
was entered into?
Mr. Simons. I was.
Senator Nelson. Can you tell us anything wliich actuated the Bol-
sheviki in entering into such a treaty? By that treaty they re-
linquished the Ukraine, they relinquished Finland, they relinquished
Courland and the Baltic coast, all, to the Germans. At all events,
they gave up all, so that they left Russia with no access to the sea
except at Petrograd; and they also got considerable gold from the
Russian Government or from the Bolsheviki.
Senator King. You ought to add to that, Senator, the Aland
Islands, which are at the mouth of the sea, so it made the harbor of
Petrograd valueless.
Senator Nelson. The Aland Islands are southwest of the Finnish
coast.
Senator King. But they are really a protection, as a naval base,
very largely, to the entrance to the harbor that goes in to Petrograd —
that arm of the sea that extends into Russia.
Senator Nelson. Now, what information can you give us about
that. Doctor?
Mr. Simons. I am not a military expert, as you know. I read the
papers and I heard the account of their proceedings at the Brest-
Litovsk meeting, and so on, with scores of others who were in the
British, American, and French colonies in Petrograd and Moscow,
and Russians who were well qualified to pass judgment on the thing.
I also had a strong conviction that the Brest-Litovsk performance
was largely a German thing, and that for the simple reason that
while Lenine and Trotsky ancl their helpers were saying all kinds of
bitter things about the allies, I hardly ever, up to that time, caught
them saying anything very bitter against Germany. I had seen their
proclamations, and only last summer, in July and August. One
particularly I have in mind, which was addressed to the whole
civilized world and posted up all over Petrograd, and that referred in
no delicate language to the allies as being flesh-eating and blood-
drinking allies.
Senator King. That included the United States, of course, in that
category.
Mr. Si^ioNS. Well, then they went on to speak of England and
France. As I recall, I do not think they mentioned us, but in a
number of conversations that I had with officials in the Soviet
regime I discovered that there was a tendency to remain, if possible,
friendly with America, which was interpreted by men in the diplo-
matic service of the allied countries as being an attempt, if possible,
to separate America from her allies. And then again, when the
Bolsheviki regime would fall to pieces there might be an asylum to
which the Bolsheviki demons might escape. Excuse me for calling
them demons, but I have seen so much that I have not been able to
find a better word to characterize thera.
Senator Overman. Do you know this man Gordon that you spoke
of — ^this negro from the United States?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; I knew him. He came over to me to get married
to a so-called Russian lady, who was an Esthonian. He lived with
her only a short time.
122 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Overiiax. Where did he come from, do you know?
Mr. Simons. He came from America. He was a pugilist, and
issued cards as being a professor of physical culture, boxing, and
■what not, and for a certain time he was the doorkeeper in our
American Embassy in Petrograd.
Senator Overman. You spoke of him as being mixed up with this
Bolshevik crowd in the institute.
]\ir. Simons. I think that is the same Gordon — Prof. Gordon.
Senator Overman. You spoke of his being in with these Bol-
.sheviks.
^Ir. Simons. That is the last statement that we had.
Senator Overman. That he was with them?
INIr. Simons. That was the last statement.
Senator Xelsox. Do you not think the Germans absolutely con-
trolled the situation at the time that the treaty of Brest -Litovsk was
entered into, and that they practically had their own way?
Mr. Simons. I certainly do.
Senator Nelson. Do you not believe that Trotsky and Lenine were
really in the toils of Germany and willing to do what Gennany
wanted ? ,
Mr. Simons. I have been led to believe that most of the men in the
Bolsheviki service, who are real Bolshevists — there are some who are
not — most of them are avowedly antially, and have a strong hatred
toward England, and an affection for Germany. That has come out
again and again.
Senator Nelson. "Were j'ou there when the revolution of Lenine
and Trotsky, as distinguished from the former revolution, took place,
in November, 1917?
Mr. Simons. T was present.
Senator Nelson. Can you tell us about what took place then?
Mr. Simons. It is a long story. To give you a graphic picture of
it would take hours. I can only say this
Senator Nelson. Give us an outline.
Mr. Simons. I can onlj' say this, that the air was pregnant with the
most hellish terrorism that any fine grained person could ever expe-
rience. I dressed up again and again as a Russian workman and
put on a Russian shirt that hangs down almost to the knees, and I put
on an old slouch hat and nickel spectacles so that my sister said I
really looked like a Bolshevist, and I went out and moved among those
fellows and I heard their talk. I moved into the barracks. I wanted
to get inside information inasmuch as I was preparing a book. I
felt that history was being made, and I believed in Russia, I loved
Russia, but I did not believe in this thing, and I wanted to see just
what it would do to the Russia that I expected to live, and I wanted
to get first-hand information, and as I moved among the hoi poUoi,
I found that the average man did not know the difference between
his elbows and his knees. These agitators would come and speak for
Lenine and Trotsky, and they would say, " That is entirely correct,
entirely correct." And then, after those agitators had left with their
truck auto, another auto would come along, and there would be some
other agitators.
Senatoi^ Nelson. "Who were those agitators ? Were they workmen
■or soldiers, or of what class or community?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 123
Mr. Simons. They were made up of professional agitators, and
some of them had on the Russian uniform, and some of them were
simply clad as workmen, with the black robosa or workman's shirt.
Senator King. Had any of them been in the United States, and
gone back?
Mr. Simons. Some of them had.
Senator King. From the East Side?
Mr. Simons. From the East Side, as I happen to knoAv.
Senator Wolcott. This man Apfelbauni was not from the East
Side?
Mr. Simons. I do not k^ow. I have not been informed as to his
antecedents, and so on. I have a paper here which was circulated
when Lenine and Trotsky were asserting themselves, in August, Sep-
tember, and October of 1917, giving a list of about 20 names, showing
the Jewish in one column, and then the assumed Russian name in the
other. That thing was considered a very dangerous document, but it
was being circulated everywhere, and one copj' came to me. In that
■document I found Apfelbaum's name, and his assumed name. Be-
yond that I do not know anything about Mr. Apfelbaum.
Senator King. I interrupted, you when you were answering Senator
Nelson's question.
Senator Nelson. I would like to have you go on further and tell us.
Mr. Simons. We could not escape this observation, that the suc-
qess of the Bolsheviki revolution was largely due to the fact of having
■employed terrorism.
Senator Overman. What was the nature of the terrorism?
Mr. Simons. They had practically all their men armed. The work-
ingman there got so inspired with the holy zeal of the great cause,
which was to kill off -the capitalist and enthrone the proletariat, that
he felt he was in a holy crusade for humanity's sacred cause. That
is the way those men talked : and these men were given arms. I have
•one paper here which shows that they used it as a slogan. It reads
something like this, " The surety of the proletarian cause lies in put-
ting the gun into the hand of the workman." It was that thing that
made the Bolsheviki revolution a success. Without having the so-
called proletarian element armed. I do not believe it would have suc-
ceeded.
Senator Nelson. The masses of their people, then, were armed,
and paraded the streets in armed bodies, did they not?
Mr. Simons. Many of them ; yes.
Senator Nelson. And that parading of these armed men bred this
spirit of terrorism?
Mr. Simons. They then took opportunity to oppose all political
parties that were not in favor of the Bolsheviki program. The differ-
■ent parties were defined, and they were still hoping that they might
succeed in having their constituent assembly, but soon after the
Bolshevist revolution had succeeded, even those banners were torn
down, and it was considered the most dangerous thing to even speak
in favor of a constituent assembly.
Senator King. A constituent assembly representing all of them?
Mr. Simons. All of the parties.
Senator King. Which gave them all a chance to participate?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
124 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator King. The peasants, the workingmen, the laboring men:
proletariat and capitalistic classes?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator King. A sort of general democratic government?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. Were there any threats manifest at that time to
kill those who had property or were intellectual people?
Mr. Simons. After the Bolsheviki came into power one paper
after another that stood out against them was suppressed, and it
was not long before we had only one kind of press there, and that
was the Bolshevistic or anarchistic. I h^ve a few copies here, and
in these papers they employ the harshest terms that I have ever found,
in regard to putting out of the way all groups or institutions that
were not in sympathy or in accord with the Bolshevik ideal, spirit,
and program.
Senator King. Do you mean assassination and murder to accom-
plish that end?
Mr. Simons. It became quite evident that they had that as their —
what shall I say? — trump card, and many of their proclamations
breathed not only an intense diabolical class hatred, but also murder,
and for weeks and weeks they were fine-tooth combing the dif-
r«nt sections of Petrograd — and ^loscow, for that matter — trying to
get hold of the officers who up to that time had been holding out
against them. Many of them had already made their escape and
gone over to the allies.
Senator Nelson. You mean the army officers ?
Mr. Simons. The army officers. And they were rushing from one
home to another. Some of them even came to us and asked whether
they could not spend the night with us. They said, " It will be only
for one night " ; but we never did that, for the simple reason that we
did not want to be found guilty of that sort of thing. Scores of
these officers — and some of them who were high up in the Russian
Army under the old Government and imder the provisional govern-
ment— called on me when the embassy was no longer there, and asked
me to give them either a card or a letter to our embassy in Vologda,
which I did. These men gave me a good deal of information, too. I
have made memoranda of some of these conversations, but all that
lies in the trunk over in the American Embassy in Petrograd, await-
ing the day when I can go there and use it for later publication.
Senator Xelson. Can you tell us of the acts of barbarism and the
destruction of life and property that took place there? Can you
tell us anything about that i
]\Ir. Simons. I beg your pardon.
Senator Xelson. You have spoken of the terrorism they engen-
dered by beinp' armed. Can you tell us wlmt they did ?
ilr. SuroNs. Here are a few things that came under my own im-
mediate observation : It was a short time before Ambassador Francis
left Petrograd that we invited him to have dinner with us. It must
have been either in December or January — I am not sure, but I am
inclined to believe it must have been in January or February, 1918 —
but about an hour and a half Ijefore he came, accompanied by two of
his secretaries, one of the most horrible things I have ever witnessed
hapjoened right in front of our American proj^erty there. I was m
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 125
my office at the time, speaking with our head deaconess, and I heard
shots and groans, and looked out of the window, and right in front
of our property there was a crowd of people, all ex:ited, shouting,
and two Russian soldiers running, with several Eed Guards — Bol-
sheviks— right after them, and I witnessed tlieui shoot each of those
men as they Avere falling, three or four times in the head.
Our own household became '^omewhat alarmed. We did not know
just what the nature of this was. Possibly it was something that
would involve us. I at once < ailed for the sexton or janitor — in this
case he was both — of our church, and asked him to investigate. He
then learned that these men had been in a tea-drinking room down the
street, and had been charged with having tried to steal, but whether
or no they were guilty never came out. But the Bolshevik Red Guards
never stopped to ask whether a man was guilty or not ; they would
shoot on the spot. I have seen that again and again. I had an in-
stance of that brought to my attention in the case of two brothers,
where the one they wanted was not there, and they shot the other
man by mistake, and the other one went free.
In this particular instance we felt queer, because in a minute the
ambassador might come to see us, and it did not look quite palatable
to have a pool of blood with two dead bodies, like that, in front of
one's house, when a distinguished man like Gov. Francis was to
come to dinner. But he came, and it was then already dark, for-
tunately, and he did not see any of that. I told him about it, and he
seemed to enjoy it. I mean he was keen on hearing any of these
things. He was a brave soul, and referred to his own fearlessness,
and incidentally always having a good little friend in his back
pocket — a Browning. This did not unnerve the ambassador in the
least. He then told me a number of things that showed that he had
experienced possibly more than we had.
On another occasion the Bolshevik Eed Guards, of a morning,
about half past 2, tried to bi'eak into our house. They were climb-
ing up the emergency ladder, and our janitor, like most other people
in Petrograd, who were only getting dried fish to live on — there was
hardly any bread to be had — was afflicted with the same malady that
others were suffering with, and he was up that night, fortunately,
and he looked around and saw two men climbing up the emergency
ladder, trying to get into our house and to break into the garret.
A few days before that time the door leading to the garret had been
tampered with, and I suspected that something was being done, and
I had the old lock taken off and a new one put on, and then a second
door properly fixed up with a padlock, so they would have a kind of
a hard time getting into our premises. At all events, he approached
them and he said, " Comrades, what are you desiring ? What do you
wish ? " They said to him, " You hold your mouth shut, and you
will get 5,000 rubles," and quick as a flash he answered and said,
" You think I am a Jew 1 " And then they remarked to each other,
" Let us go," and they ran as fast as their feet could carry them
through the yard and over the fence.
I investigated that thing afterwards and found there was a plan
to get me to pay money. I was looked upon by certain Bolshevik
officials as being a capitalist. I was the trustee of our property, be-
cause it was found up to a certain time that we could not very well
126 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
have our legalizing papers, but we took counsel with our law3'er,
who was also the lawyer for the ambassador, and he said the best
thing to do was to keep your property for the time being, until things
became normal and Russia had a new law, in your own name. I was,
because of being known as a property owner, put in the fourth cate-
gory, which, of course, was to be starved out and in due time ex-
pedited.
I happen to know that some of the Americans who had property
over there were blaclanailed ; one man in particular, Mr. Hervey,
with whom I had had long talks up to the time I left. They had
arrested him, and he was to pay a fine. He had a factory over there,
and he had invested something like $100,000, so he told me, and the
reason he stayed there was to protect his property. For some viola-
tion of a decret, he had to pay a fine. They were getting out new
decrets every week, and a man did not know what he could do and
what he could not do, because of the multiplicity of decrets.
Senator King. They were the basis of confiscation, were they not?
Mr. SiMoxs. Yes. They were working out, if you please, a new
scheme of government, which touched e^•ery conceivable thing in a
man's social and economic existence. We at times felt so nervous
that we did not know what next to expect. Where we used to have
to pay 3 rubles a year as a dog tax — we had two English fox ter-
riers who did excellent police duty for us — under the Bolsheviks we
had to pay 50 rubles for each clog. The telephone bill used to be
something like, as I recall it, 85 rubles. Under the Bolsheviks it
was in the neighborhood of 300 rubles — that is, for our class. For a
business man it would be, I suppose, from 500 to 600 rubles. And so
all along. If you had a bathtub, or if you had more windows than
ordinarily a man ought to have, or if you had a piano, or an organ —
and the last thing, that distressed us very much was that all type-
writers were to be registered. I tried to get our new American type-
writer put in the embassy, and the old Russian one as well. Those
were never registered. I was advised by the secretary, who is still
there, to do as others had been doing.
Senator Overman. They had the idea of fixing a tax on type-
writers ?
Mr. Simons. They had the idea of laying their hands on every-
thing. They could not get away from that, because they simply
had a diabolical zest for gTabbing; and they were putting it really
through in such a cruel way; they came in with such a diabolical
glee and they would be so offensive in their language. I have had
occasion to speak with some of these men, who were usually Jews,
and I would never mince matters with them. I would say, "Do you
know who I am, and what I have done for Russia?" and so on.
"Why do you proceed in this way?" Usually when I got through
they would be ready to kiss my feet, which was not necessary ; and I
have this impression, that there is a large criminal element in the
Bolsheviki regime. Anybody that knows anything about Russia
Ivnows this, that when the great revolution of the winter of 1917
came, all the courts with their documents were destroyed. For days
and days we saAv tons of old documents smoldering "on the streets.
They threw those things out of the buildings and set fire to them, and
Avhat not. The same thing happened to the police buildings. We had
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 127
a police precinct, so called, diagonally opposite our property, and I
was on good terms with the captain, so called, of that precinct. He
was a fine gentleman. I knew the other men in the office very well.
That is only on the side. Out of the prisons which were destroyed
hj fire — they placed machine guns on them — out of the prisons, out
of the houses of detention, out of the other institutions where
certain people had been kept by order of the court, came thousands
of the worst type of criminals. Kerensky and the provisional gov-
ernment tried to rearrest some of those. They succeeded in getting
some of them back under cover. But when this Bolsheviki, anar-
chistic movement effervesced, in the summer of 1917, there were
groups that would swarm around certain of these places to get their
comrades out, and so by the time the Bolsheviki revolution was pretty
well under swing there were practically no criminals in a place where
they ought to be kept, and we know it to be a fact that some of the
worst characters have been holding positions under the Bolsheviki.
Senator King. And those that were not elevated to such posi-
tions
Mr. Simons. "VYere engaged as agitators.
Senator King. And many of them were armed and constituted a
part of the Bolsheviki armies?
Mr. Simons. And afterwards, because of their relation to the Bol-
sheviki regime, and having their protection, went out and raided
houses ; and when the banks were to be confiscated, socialized, and na-
tionalized— ^those were the three terms we were hearing there all the
time for their damnable robbery — there were men who were known
to be criminals going into these banks and helping to do that sort of
thing. That is a well-known fact, and you can get the names over
there.
Senator Nelson. Did not the Bolsheviki also absorb and take into
their fold in one form or another the old nihilists?
Mr. Simons. They would take anybody in. They would even take
a monarchist in, provided the monarchist would say, "I will help
you to run this department."
Senator Nelson. Doctor, Avill you go on and tell us what you saw
in reference to the efforts of the proletariat to take possession of the
property of the capitalists?
Senator King. If I may be pardoned, you asked him a question a
few moments ago, in answer to which the doctor gave one or two
instances of cruelty that came under his own observation. Generally
speaking, without going into details, what can you say as to there
being a reign of terror involving murder, assassination, and the
driving of people from their homes, and the starving of men, women,
and children, particularly those who did not belong to what might
be denominated the Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Simons. I could speak for hours on that and prove that the
thing is diabolically terroristic, and that they have a strong animus
against everybody who is not in their class, which they call the
Black Workmen's Class. As a property owner there and the head
of our church I had a good deal to do with them administratively.
We were sought by the hour to write out all kinds of documents,
according to their scheme, and we were having to run to and fro.
They were nearly all Jewish persons we had to deal with, and they
128 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
were all nasty in their way of speaking of the people of the other
class, offensively so. and they would sometimes come into the house
and begin to stamp around, until they were given to understand they
were not dealing with a Russian citizen but with an American
citizen.
A dozen armed men came in there and surrounded my sister and
abused her.
Two of them came in there armed one night, for no other reason
than that they suspected I was anti-Bolshevik, and, consequently, I
must be an anarchist. They banged away at our back door, and my
two fox terriers ran after me, and I had to throw them first into the
kitchen. I was losing time, and in the meantime these men were get-
ting impatient, and they were just about to break through the door
when I opened it. I had to lose some time there because we had a
Yale lock, and a bolt, and then an old-fashioned Russian lock on the
aoor, and I had to turn the key in that Russian lock twice, but when I
got it open thej' ran right up to me and held out two revolvers against
my chest and threatened to shoot me. charging me with being an
anarchist. I smiled and called them " Comrades," and told them
there must be a mistake; that I was not a Russian, to begin with,
but that I was an American, and was a born democrat and never
knew what it was to luive any monarchistic ideas at all, and that 1
was for a republic first, last, and all the time, and long before they
were born.
Senator Xelson. And I presume you told them you were a Chris-
tian Socialist?
Mr. SiMoxs. Well, afterwards that came out; but they stormed
around there for a while. But when they saw they had made a mis-
take they asked whether we had a telephone.
Senator Nelson. Did you talk with them?
Mr. SiMOxs. I certainly did.
Senator Xelson. Did they speak English?
Mr. Simons. They spoke Russian. Those two Red Guards were not
Russians; they were Letts. The way they spoke Russian I could
tell they were not real Russians, but were Letts, and the Letts, by the
way, are, perhaps, the most cruel element that we had in the revo-
lutions of 190.5 and the revolutions of 1917 and 1918.
Senator King. The Letts constituted about 25 to 30 per cent of the
Bolshevik army, as it was constituted about six months ago, and
the Chinese about from 50,000 to 60,000, and the criminals about
100,000, with a few Russians, a number of Germans, and a few
Austrians scattered among them. Is not that about the situation as
it was about six months ago ?
Mr. Simons. I think you are quite correct, generally speaking.
I have learned that there are thousands of German prisoners of war,
and Austrian prisoners of war, Austrians and Hungarians, who be-
came infected with the Bolshevist idea while they were in prison
camps in Siberia. I have met a few men who were Russians, and
had been out there and investigated the thing, and they told me that
even last August those men said, " We do not care one way or the
other about the Bolsheviki government. What we care about is
having plenty to eat and good clothes and '" — I beg pardon for say-
ing this — " all the women we want." There has been a strong appeal
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 129
to that thing. The immoral element is so ever present that I hate
to say it in this promiscuous company, but I am a Christian clergy-
man and I know you want testimony. I am not responsible for
ladies being here, but the thing is so immoral that it distresses me,
especially when ladies are around.
Senator Nelson. Who are the Letts, as contradistinguished troni
the Eussians ?
Mr. Simons. The Letts are from that section in and around Riga
and they constitute a very large part of the population of Riga.
When the Germans came in there and suppressed the revolution
of the Bolsheviki proletariat in the Baltic Provinces, these Letts,
who had done very good fighting under the old regime and were
■considered the best fighters in the Russian Army, were forced out,
and they came from what they considered their own fatherland
down into Russia proper, and were, if you please, without their
bearings, and Lenine and Trotsky made use of them, offering them
large sums of money; and although these Letts are known to have
never had any affection for the Germans, especially for the Baltic
Germans, and very little affection for the Russians, here came the
question of having plenty of food, good shelter, and warm attire,
and — I repeat what they ha-^e said themselves — the privilege of doing-
whatever they wished in the cities of Petrograd and Moscow.
Lenine and Trotsky both have said, and they have borne it out in
their actions, that they would not rely on Russians to protect them,
but they would rely on the Letts: and the Russians, on the whole,
have no affection for the Letts. I believe the average Russian thinks
less of a Lett than he does of any other nationality or race.
Senator Nelson. The Letts are an offshoot of the Finnish race,
are they not ?
Mr. Simons. No: the Esthonians are an offshoot.
Senator King. The Letts are Slavs, and the Finnish are
]Mr. Si3i0NS. The Finnish are related to them, and they understand
■each other quite well. If a Finn is speaking, an Esthonian will catch
everything he says, and vice versa.
Senator King. The Chinese formed a considerable portion of the
Red Guards, did they not?
Jlr. SiMOKS. Chinese coolies, quite a number of them, were up
in Finland at that time, doing work under the old regime in Rus-
sia, chopping down trees, and doing other manual labor there, and
when the Red movement in Finland was suppressed thousands of
these Chinese, who were also called coolies, came into Russia proper.
We saw quite a number of them in Petrograd ; and we had quite an
epidemic of smallpox, which was due to these people.
Senator King. Were they not employed in building that road up
on the Kola Peninsula, and the harbor there on the Murman coast?
Mr. Simons. I did not have occasion to go up there, so I can not
say.
"Senator Kixg. But those Chinese were employed on building that
road. Doctor, of your own knowledge, would you say that the
Chinese and the German and Austrian soldiers who claimed no citi-
zenship anywhere, men who had been prisoners in Russia, consti-
tuted a part of the Bolshevist military establishment?
85723—19 9
130
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. jSiMONS. I will go this far in saying that but for this element
there never would have been a nucleus to the Bed army.
Senator Kixg. So, then, these former German prisoners and
former Austrian prisoners, and the Chinese coolies and the Letts,
with some Kussians, constituted the major part of the army?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; and, of course, they were getting thousands of
Russian workmen. That we saw with our own eyes, that thej- no
longer could get any work, because nearly all their factories were
put out of business; and there is a long story connected with that
which involves German agents, and much machinery was destroyed
for no other purpose than that, as we knew, Russia was to be crippled
economically and made dependent upon Germany for various prod-
ucts ; and we also knew — and this I state emphatically — that at the
time of the Brest-Litovsk treaty, thousands of commercial men from
Germany were already walking the streets of Petrograd and Moscow
and other large centers, taking ordere.
Senator Nelson. For German goods?
Mr. Simons. For Geiinan wares; and it looked very much as
though Germany had it in her mind to cripple Russia economically,
and the Bolshevik regime had
Senator Nelson. Winked at it?
Mr. Simons. Helped it very much. Whether they did that know-
ingly or not I do not know; I am not going to say; but it looked
rather suspicious to many of us who were eyewitnesses. I knew
men who were at the head of the work at the factories, and they said,
"Just to think of it ! These workmen came in here and they stormed
around, and they pulled the finest machinery to pieces, and when
we tried to prevail with them not to do this, that it was bread and but-
ter, they said, ' Ha, our bread and butter ! We are now demolishing
capitalism.' " That was put into their heads, " We are now abolish-
ing capitalism;"' but they were killing the goose that laid the golden
egg. They did not quite see the connection between having a fac-
tory that was kept intact and the possibility of having a livelihood.
The sad part of it all is that most of those jDeople were illiterates, and
it was a foregone conclusion that manv of these things could not be
otherwise.
Senator Xelson. Doctor, will you go on and describe to us the
soviet plan of government, their scheme of government, and the way
thej' propose to put it into practice?
Senator King. Before that, if you will permit me, right there in
sequence: You spoke about their cruelties and atrocities. What did
it result in with respect to the bourgeois?
Mr. Simons. It resulted in this, that thousands of the best people
of Petrograd and Moscow and other parts had been losing all their
property, and in many cases were having members of their own
households arrested. Ever so many of these things came under my
personal observation. They had only one wish, and that was to get
out of Russia. But the Bolsheviki were not letting people get out of
Russia. It was the hardest thing to get permission from them if
you wanted to leave Russia. But they were making their escape by
all kinds of methods. I will not go into that. Many of them suc-
ceeded, and we succeeded in getting some very distinguished people
out of Russia ourselves by hook and crook, because some of them said :
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 131
'■ If we do not get out we know we are going to be murdered, because
our names are on the lists of the thousands who are held as bour-
geois hostages."
Senator Overman. Hostages? What does that mean? It is not
used in the ordinary sense, I understand.
Mr. Simons. To state it popularly, their idea was to hold certain
people of the bourgeois class, whose names they had down to be ar-
rested, and perhaps put out of the way if anything befell the Bolshe-
vik government; for instance, like the attempt to kill Lenine, or the
successful assassination of Uritzky, commissar in Petrograd, who was
killed by a fellow Jew ; and these people were held as hostages.
Senator King. To illustrate, they are holding now as hostage the
wives and the families of some of the Russian officers whom they
have forced into their army?
Mr. Simons. They are.
Senator King. And if they do not run the army as they think
they ought to, they threaten to kill their families?
Mr. Simons. I do not know whether I ought to come out with this
statement, but scores of them have come to me and said that it was
breaking their hearts. They say, " We have to do this, but we t]\iuk
you and others ought to know, and hope you will square us with the
allies." Some of the finest men I have known have said, " If we do
not go in they will shoot us right down." Some were shot; some
made their escape ; some were in hiding for months and months, never
sleeping in the same place two nights in succession. Some of these
horrible things were being enacted for weeks and weeks right in our
own section, and some Americans were arrested and then afterwards
released.
You asked me about their terroristic methods. I was an American
and was known to be a friend of Eussia, and a friend of the working
people, and yet in our open meetings it became so apparent that there
was a strong feeling against the Christian religion, against every-
thing that was Christian, especially against the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association and
the Salvation Army, and all Christian bodies, that threats were
made like this : A group of ill-clad workmen stood in front of our
house at the close of an open-air meeting which I had conducted
one Sunday afternoon, which we have been doing ever since the great
winter of 1917. One of our members overheard one of them say,
" Before sundown we ai'e going to stick out the eyes of that man with
the spectacles." They never got as far as the spectacles.
Another case was this, where an intoxicated self-confessed Bolshe-
viki was moving around the pulpit. We had to take our pulpit and
put it on the stone stoop that we had on the side of the house, and
then we would have hundreds of people facing us, and he would move
around that pulpit and I would talk kindly with him, and I told him
that it was evident that he was tired, and so on, and wouldn't he take
one of those chairs. We had a few chairs out there for some of our
elderly people. He refused to be seated, and he came back to the
pulpit again. One of our oldest members talked with him and he
said " I am going to put that man out of business," and he lingered
around our property for a couple of hours. After the meeting was
over this one member felt very nervous about it. He had been im-
132
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
bibing, so this friend of ours, a member of mir church, took him all
arovmd those streets near the garden, as they call it, or Haven of
Petrograd — so that he finally, ^Yhen it grew dark, did not know where
he was — and then left him, and we never saw him again.
I could relate a few other things — how they tried to break into our
house early in the morning, and one of the men was promptly killed
bj' a Eed Guard.
Senator King. Doctor, what I was trying to get at is the extent of
the terror and the etfect on the bourgeoisie and the mass of the
higher chi.sses; whether they are forced to starve to death or not?
Jlr. SuroNs. Yes. We saw them as walking shadows in the streets
of Petrograd. I have seen with my own eyes people dropping dead.
First, before they pass away over there, their faces bloat up; and wq
had at one time, when we were not getting bread, an average of 60
horses dropping dead on the street.
Senator King. Per day?
?i[r. Si:mons. Sixty horses per day. I have seen many of them my-
self lying there. A Mohammedan and a Jew came up, and they
would dicker Avith each other before the horse had gone to the place
of his fathers, and they would say, " If we could keep him alive a
few hours more, he would be worth more." They would sell horse-
flesh. I have seen people standing there — I recollect in one instance a
ni:ii! in a general's uniform, a man with a white lieard, stood on Bol-
shoi Prospect with tears on his cheeks, asking, " For God's sake, give
me a few kopecks.'' Xone of the workmen would give him any. He
stood there. I almost collapsed myself, because I had suffered my-
self and seen so much of this diabolical business, this antihuniani-
tarian I'egime; yet I wanted to see that. T thought that would be
effective in my book. And some people of the second and third and
fourth categories, who had a few spare stamps — we had no coins any
more — would give him '20 ov 30 kopecks. I Ivavq been in homes where
they had not had any bread for weeks, and I recall one case now ■
Senator King. Would these be the bourgeois?
jMr. Simons. Yes. But they were also putting the screws on people
who wei-e not bourgeois, but who were — I presume the best thing
would be to call them the middle class — people that believed in the
use of a clean handkerchief once in a while, having perhaps a gold
ling; but that immediately would put thcni under the condemnation
of being bourgeois. I had occasion to speak with people Avho were
woiiving and people who were not bourgeois. I interviewed hundreds,
and I asked them. ' Well, what do you think of this thing T' " Well,
we know that it is first of all German, and second, we know that it is
Jewish. It is not a Russian proposition at all. That became so
popular that as you ujoved through the streets in Petrograd in July
and August and September and the beginning of October, openly
they would tell you this, " This is not a Russian Government ; this is
a German and Hebrew Government." And then others would come
out and say, "And very soon there is going to be a big pogrom."
As a result of that, hundreds of Bolshevik officials who happened to
be Jews were sending their wives and their children out of Petrograd
and Moscow, afraid that the pogrom would really come. I cabled
something of that in a quiet way to our authorities, and it came to
them through the State Department.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 133
Senator Wolcott. I gather from what you say, Doctor, that this
vhole regime over there is sustained by a small minority of these
slements that are entirely out of sympathy with the great Russian
jeople, and that they are imposing their will upon that nation by
iorce and terror. Is that correct or not?
Mr. Simons. Absolutely correct, and I have seen with my own eyes
lOw they have been marching hundreds of people down the Bolslioi
Prospect, on which our property was situated, and I have seen themi
marching hundreds of them down to the garden or haven, and from
:here they were taken down to Kronstadt and put in the fortress
:here; and then through members of the Noi'wegian legation, tbo
Danish legation, and the Swedish legation, we would learn that
scores of them were being killed.
' Senator King. Was that a constant occurrence?
Mr. Si:moxs. That was. Senator, after the assassination of Commis-
sar Uritzky.
Senator WoLCOi'-r. By the way, have you ever had any occasion to
make a rough estimate of the number of murders committed by this
Bolshevik regime from the time they got in the ascendancy in No-
vember, 1917, until the time you left?
Mr. Simons. It was almost impossible to get any statistics on that.
Senator Wolcott. Not even approximate?
Mr. Simons. I would not dare even to guess.
Senator Wolcott. In the hundreds or thousands?
Mr. Simons. I should say that if what they have said in their
speeches, in their proclamations, and in their Bolshevik press, would
be any indication, already thousands of the bourgeois class have been
killed ; because they came out openly and said, " For every one of
the proletariat that is killed we shall kill a thousand of the bourgeois
class."
Senator King. What do you say as to the starvation, the extent of
it among the bourgeois and the better classes ?
Mr. Simons. They had a system which divided the population into
four classes. The first category — they used the term " category " —
was made up of the black workmen's class. They were to have any
food that might be available.
Senator King. The soldiers came first, did they not?
Mr. SiJcoNs. And tlie Red army; yes.
Senator King. Then the black workmen ?
Mr. Simons. Well, I am speaking now of this particular thine:
they were sending around to us. I have a copy with me here, 'and
I could show you that in translation. The first category was the
black workmen's c1;isr. That constituted, if you please, the nobility
of the proletariat. Then came the second category, of men who were
working in the stores and offices. If anything was left after the first
category got theirs, they came in. Then came the third category,
which included the professional people, teachers, doctors, lawyers,
clergymen, artists, singers, and so on. I belonged to that category,
as a pastor. Then came the fourth category, made up of the property
owners and the capitalists.
The third and the fourth classes, they said openly in their Bol-
shevik press and proclamations and speeches, were to be starved out.
If I have heard it and read it once, I have come across that state-
134
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
ment scores of times, and they even had cartoons showing how the
people of culture and refinement were being treated like dogs who are
watching for a crumb that falls from the table. I have seen some
of the most inhumane pictures in the month of August, Iflis. As a
member of a category I was entitled for the whole month to one-
eighth of a pound of bread, and my sister likewise. Our head
deaconess was treated in the same way. We were doing charitable
work, too, but all that had no influence ; and the fact that we were
trying to get food into Eussia, and they Icnew that we were cabling,
and all that, did not weigh with them at all. We were simply put
in tlie same category. We ought to be starved out.
Senator Wolcott. Let me ask j'^ou : Suppose a workingman living
in Petrograd had, by his hard labor, saved enough to buv himself a
little home, and lived with his wife and children in his home, which
he had been able to buy by hard labor and saving all his life, what
class would he have fallen in?
Mr. Simons. If he had worked in a factory and was a member of
the factory unit in the so-called workmen's book, with his portrait
in it, that came in under the Bolshevik regime as a substitute for the
passport; he would usually be considered as a workman, and under
the present Bolsheviki would not be molested because of owning
property.
Senator Wolcott. Suppose he was not working any longer?
Mr. SiiroNS. If they had suspicions that he had a bourgeois spirit
and ideals and wanted to wear a white shirt and to use certain things
that we people of refinement are accustomed to, he might fall into
disgrace with them.
Senator Wolcott. He would be marked for starvation, would he?
Mr. Si:mons. Well, now. that is hypothetical. Judging from what
I have seen there, I would say that they would mark him. I think so.
Senator Wolcott. When a man is marked for starvation, are his
wife and children in the same category with him, under their way of
reforming the world ?
Mr. Simons. You are speaking in a general way. There are ex-
ceptions over there. I know of many cases where even people of
the third and fourth categories, by properly manipulating the subway
resources, have been able to get almost everything they wanted.
The Bolsheviki official is just as weak to accept bribes as the officials
Tvere under the old regime, and if you have enough monej' you can
have almost anything you please ; and if you find that you are listed
to be arrested and killed, if you have enough money your life will
he spared. I have had such cases under my observation. Money
talks, over there.
Senator King. By confiscating property have the}' been able to
get money to pay their men and soldiers and officials?
Mr. SisroNS. I am not informed as to how much real money they
got into their hands. I understood that when they rifled ever so
many safe-deposit vaults there was a great disappointment. They
did not find all the gold they expected to get.
Senator King. They are using paper money almost exclusively?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; but they were after gold.
Senator King. Has the population of Petrograd and Moscow been
largely reduced by reason of the terrorism and starvation?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 135
Mr. Simons. The last I heard was that Petrograd, which used to
have — I am speaking now of the period under the great war — a
population of over 2,000,000, and it got up to about 2,300,000, as I
recall, has dropped down, so we are told, to 600,000 or 800,000.
Senator King. Up to the time you left ?
Mr. Simons. Up to the time I left.
Senator King. Could you witness a great reduction in the popu-
lation ?
Mr. Simons. Why, I noticed this, that we had very few of the
middle class left, and of the so-called aristocracy hardly any. At
that time they were making arrangements to have the working class
enter the palaces and mansions and the fine homes and apartments.
The president of the northern union came out with a very red-hot
proclamation — I think it was in July or August, 1918 — in which he
began by saying, " The English have a saying, ' My house is my
castle.' " That was his theme. Then he used a good deal of inflam-
matory language, and upheld to the hoi poUoi, the proletariat of
Eussia, to take what belonged rightfully to them. All property
belonged to the proletariat. It was the blood of their forefathers
and fathers and brothers and themselves that had paid the price for
it, and now they should take what belonged to them; and he closed
his proclamation — I am only giving you this as I have it in my mem-
ory— by saying, " Yes ; my house is my castle, and the Eussian work-
ingman is going to defend it with a gun."
Senator Nelson. Are Lenine and Trotsky Yiddish?
Mr. Simons. Lenine is from a very fine old Eussian family, so we
are told, and is intellectually a very able man. A fanatic, he was
called the brains of this movement. Trotsky is a Jew. His real
name is Leon Bronstein.
Senator King. Why are they so bitter toward religion, especially
the Christian religion ?
Mr. Simons. There is a gentleman here in America who last night
called on me. Dr. Harris A. Houghton, I think is his full name. I
knew him out in Bay Side when I was the pastor of that church. He
called on me last night. He is a captain in the United States Army.
1 had not seen him for six years. He asked me whether I knew any-
thing about the anti-Christian element in the Bolshevik regime. I
said, " Indeed, I do. I do know all about it." He said, " Did you
ever come across the so-called Jewish protocols?" I said, "Yes; I
have had them." " I have a memorandum," he said, " and last win-
ter after much trouble I came into possession of a book which was
called ' Eedusti, anti-Christ.' " Now, Dr. Houghton in the mean-
time had investigated this. He had come into possession of this
book, which is quite rare now, because it was said that when the
edition came out it was immediately bought up by the Jews in
Petrograd and Moscow. That book reflects a real organization.
That book is of some consequence. But the average person in official
life here in Washington and elsewhere is afraid to handle it.
Houghton says that even in his intelligence bureau they were afraid
of it.
Senator King. Tell us about the book. What is so bad about it?
Is it anti-Christian?
136 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Simons. It is anti-Christian, and it shows what this secret
Jewish society has been doing in order to iiiake a conquest of the
world, and to make the Christian forces as ineffective as possible,
and finally to have the whole world, if you please, in their grip;
and now in that book ever so many things are said with regard to
their program and their methods, which dovetail into the Bolshevik
regime. It just looks as if that is connected in some way.
Now, I have no animus against the Jews, but I have a great pas-
sion for truth. If there is anything in it, I think we ought to know.
The man who wrote it is considered a truth-loving man, a man held
in the highest esteem by the authorities of the Russian Orthodox
Church.
Senator King. Of course, that book or any teachings in that book
would not appeal to the Letts or the Chinese coolies or the German
soldiers, or to some who are controlling these Bolshevik mo^'ements.
What I am trying to get at is. for my information, why Bolshevism
is bitterly opposed to all sorts of religion or sacraments of the church —
Christianity; because I suppose they recognize that Christianity is
the basis of law and order and of orderly government. I was Avon-
dering if you had discovered why they were so bitter against Chris-
tianity, and if you found that all the Bolsheviks were atheistic or
rationalistic or anti-Christian?
Mr. Simons. My experience over there under the Bolsheviki
regime has led me to come to the conclusion that the Bolsheviki
religion is not only absolutely antireligious, atheistic, but has it in
mind to make all real religious work impossible as soon as they can
achieve that end which they are pressing. There was a meeting — I can
not give you the date offhand ; it must have been in August, 1918^
held in a large hall that had once been used by the Young Men's
Christian Association in Petrograd for their work among the Rus-
sian soldiers. The Bolsheviki confiscated it ; put out the Y. M. C. A.
In that large hall there was a meeting held which was to be a sort
of religious dispute. Lunacharsky, the commissar of people's en-
lightenment, as he was called, and Mr. Spitzberg, who was the com-
missar of propaganda for Bolshevism, were the two main speakers.
Both of those men spoke in very much the same way as Emma Gold-
man has been speaking. I have been getting some of her literature,
and recently I have been very much amazed at the same line of argu-
mentation with regard to the attack on religion and Christianity
and so-called religious organizations.
Senator King. She, is the Bolshevik who has been in jail in this
country and who will be deported as soon as her sentence is over ?
Mr. Simons. I do not know as she will be deported.
Senator King. I think she will be.
Mr. Simons. She ought to be put somewhere where she can not
issue any more of that literature. Lunacharsky and Spitzberg came
out with pretty much the same things that she has been saying and
printing. This is one of these theses : "All that is bad in the world,
misery and suffering that we have had, is largely due to the supersti-
tion that there is a God."
Senator King. I noticed in j^esterday's paper that in their schools
the children are being taught, wherever they have schools at all,
positive atheism. Did you verify that?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 137
Mr. Simons. Lunacharsky, as the oiRcial head of the department
of education, commissar of the people's enlightenment, said, " We
now propose to enlighten our boys and our girls and we are using as a
textbook a catechism of atheism which will be used in our public
schools." Yet he had the audacity to say : " We are going to give all
churches the same chance." And a priest replied to him, saying:
"Then you ought not to put your catechism of atheism into the
schools."
Senator King. Did you find, then, that atheism permeates the
ranks of the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Simons. Yes, sir. And the anti-Christ spirit as well.
Senator Nelson. In this book that you refer to is there anything
that goes to show that this Bolshevik government of Russia are sup-
porting, directly or indirectly, this book of protocols ?
Mr. Simons. Before answering that question I should like to see
that translation, because I do not know how this thing has been done.
(A pamphlet was handed to the witness.)
Senator Nelson. You have seen the original book?
Mr. Simons. Yes. Some very finely educated Russian generals of
note have told me that they considered this as an authentic thing,
and thej' say the marvelous part of it is that nearly all of that is
being executed under the Bolsheviki.
Senator King. Before you leave that, one other question: I have
seen a number of translations — have seen the Russian and the trans-
lations of what purported to be decrees or orders of some of the
so-called Soviets, in effect abolishing marriage and establishing what
has been called " free love." Do you know anything about that?
Mr. Simons. Their program you will find in the Communist Mani-
festo of Marx and Engel. Since we left Petrograd they have, if the
newspaper reports are to be relied upon, already instituted a very
definite program with regard to the so-called socialization of women,
each woman from 18 to 45 being obliged to appear before the com-
missariat and be given, nolens volens, a man with whom she shall
live.
Senator Nelson. In marriage?
Mr. Simons. You can call it marriage or whatever you want to
call it. I have seen a number of people over there under the bol-
shevistic modus operandi. One was an American. He married a
Russian girl. He was married in the commissariat and had to an-
swer a; few questions and sign his name, and she signed her name,
and among other questions that they asked were these : " How do
you propose to be married?" "How many children do you
propose to have ? " And things of that kind. And then later he
came to our headquarters and we married the couple there in Rus-
sian and English; and other cases have come under my observation.
But what they are doing now I am not in a position to say, authorita-
tively, except what has been in the papers.
Senator King. Doctor, you have read and heard of and come in con-
tact with the I. W. W^.'s of this country, and their destructive creed,
their advocacy of the destruction of our form of go^vernment. I will
ask you whether or not, from your observations of the Bolsheviki
and the I. W. W., you see any difference?
138 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Simons. I am strongly impressed with this, that the Bolshe-
viki and the I. W. W. movements are identical. Zorin told me, the
commissar of the post and telegraph
Senator Oveema^^ He had been an American?
Mr. Simons. He had been eight years in New York, and knew
some of our leaders here in our own Methodist Church.
Maj. Humes. Had he been naturalized in this country?
Mr. Simons. He had not; no. But he said he had been eight years
in New York, and had been in religious disputes with some of our
own leaders. .Zorin said to me, " We have now made our greatest
acquisition, Maxim Gorky, who used to be against us, has come over
to our side. He is now with us and has taken charge of our literary
work. You know we have conquered Russia. We next propose to
conquer Germany and then America."
Senator Nelson. A big job.
Senator King. Do you know to what extent they sent out their
representatives in the surrounding countries of Europe, giving them
money with which to carry on the propaganda of Bolshevism?
Mr. Simons. We had heard again and again that they had been
sending out sums of money into different parts of Europe, and when
nobody except people of the diplomatic class were permitted to send
out anything at all they were sending, day in and day out, from
Petrograd over to Stockholm, and over to Copenhagen, large bags.
Now, what those bags contained we can not say with any surety,
but it is suspected that those bags contained very likely Bolshevik
literature, and perhaps money, and perhaps also valuables which
were being confiscated, because many of the rare old jewels and
historic things which have been kept intact for decacles in the past,
and so on, have disappeared and no one knows where they are.
Senator King. One other question : Did you see any coordination,
if I may use the term, between the German troops, after Germany
sent troops into Eussia, and the Bolshevik troops, in the Bolshevik
government ? That is to say, did you find that they worked together ?
Mr. Simons. I was not in a position to follow that up, but I have
heard that it is true. I have heard that from Eussian officers and
members of the military mission ; and they used the same kind of
literature in both camps.
Senator King. Did you learn whether or not the Bolsheviki aided
the Germans as against the allies, surrendered them their guns and
munitions, and some of M'hich they had been accumulating in the
Eussian Army to be used against the allies, including the United
States? The point I am trying to get at is, did any of the munitions
that the Eussian Army possessed when, through the action of the
Bolshevists, the armies were disintegrated fall into the hands of the
Gertaians ?
Mr. Simons. That statement has been made. I do happen to know
this, that came out while I was passing from Stockholm. A man
who had been in the military mission at one time and was at last
working with the war council at Petrograd, told me what they had
discovered on a Eussian battleship in the Neva ; that the ship had the
archives, so called, of the Eussian Navy, showing where the forts and
fortresses were, where the mines were laid, and the whole naval posi-
tion with regard to Eussia ; and that there was found a letter which •
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 139
had been signed by Trotsky to the effect that under certain circum-
stances the archives of the Russian Navy would be turned over to
certain German officers.
Senator King. Well, Doctor, I did not care for hearsay. What I
had in mind was what you Imew personally.
Mr. Simons. We knew that they were preparing millions of rubles
for propaganda purposes in China, for instance, in India, and in
other parts of the world.
Senator King. South America?
Mr. Simons. That appeared in their daily press. That was well
known. They made no secret of that.
Senator King. For the purpose of destroying all other govern-
ments and bringing them under Bolshevism ?
Mr. Simons. Yes, sir; and putting all other institutions out of
commission that stood, if you please, for the class that they wanted
to destroy. Lunacharsky and Spitzberg said in that meeting, and
they sent it out in their proclamations, " The greatest enemy to our
proletarian cause is religion. The so-called church is simplj^ a
camouflage of capitalistic control and they are hiding behind it. and
in order to have success in our movement we must get rid of thp
church." Now, a frank statement like that seems to me to indicate
their antireligious and anti-Christian animus.
Senator King. Then, would this be a fair statement, from your
knowledge of Bolshevism, that any persons in this country, mis-
guided or sinister, who get up in theaters or other places on the lec-
ture platform and advocate Bolshevism or defend it or apologize for
it, are first approving the course of the Bolshevists in disintegrating
the armies, to that extent making the cause of our Government and
of the allies in defeating the central powers more difficult ? It would
have that effect. The effect of their conduct would be an indorse-
ment of their course? Secondly, an indorsement or appi*oval would
be the indorsement or approval of a course of a party that stands for
the grossest kind of materialism and atheism, and is against marriage,
against the right of property, against the democratic form of gov-
ernment, such as that which we have, and against the civilization
which has been builded up under our form of government ?
Mr. Simons. Yes, sir.
Senator King. Bolshevism stands for all those things? Its apolo-
gists are our enemies, enemies to our country and to our form of
Government and to civilization?
Mr. Simons. Whether they know that they are enemies, or they
have no clear notion as to what the American spirit means, I think it
is safe to say that they are mush-headed and muddle-headed.
Senator Nelson. Are you acquainted with Albert Rys Williams,
who has issued that pamphlet?
Mr. Simons. I know him.
Senator Nelson. Have you met him in Russia ?
Mr. Simons. I have met him in Russia.
Senator Nelson. Can you tell us about his activities and whom he
associated with there?
Mr. Simons. I do not know whether it would be wise for me to say
what I did see. I am not sure whether he is an American citizen. I
should first like to know whether he is an American citizen. A gen-
140 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
tleman came up to me Avhen I spoke before the preachers' meeting in
Philadelphia and said that he had learned that Williams was not an
American. If he is not, then I am free to speak.
Maj. Hu^iES. I maj' tell you that he was born in this country. Un-
less he has renounced his citizenship he is an American citizen.
Senator Overman. He is distributing tliese pamphlets on the East
Side of New York where Bolshevism has been nourished ?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Overman. And you were approached l\y this Yiddish
fellow with this catechism in his hand i
Mr. Simons. AYell, I only wish to saj' this, that if he is an Ameri-
can citizen I should like to show him the courtesy due one of my com-
patriots, and I do not want to say anything in your presence until
he has had a chance to speak for himself.
Senator 0^■ERMAN. He may be able to speak for himself.
Senator King. Was he associating Avith the Soviets over there, and
making speeches for tliem ?
Mr. Simons. We knew at that time that he was not only very sym-
loathetic with the Bolsheviki, but he was helping them in many ways.
We know that ; and he was embarrassing our own embassy and con-
sulate in a very effective way.
Senator Nelson. Perhaps we had not better go into it further now.
but we .would be glad to hear you later on this subject.
Senator King. Just one other question. I will ask you whether
or not you noticed any difference in the personnel of the soviet after
Lenine and Trotsky got control; that is to say, when Lenine and
Trotsky came into poAver the Soviets existed, and as I understand it,
many of the soA^ets Avere elected by the people and the representa-
tives of the Soviets were fair representatives of the people. Now,
AA'hat I am trying to get at is, after Lenine and Trotsky came in,
whether or not the personnel of the Soviets changed. My informa-
tion is, and I want to knoAv Avhether it is correct or not, that they
would frequently send out from Petrograd and Moscoav their tools,
and they would supersede the Soviets in various administrations and
put in men who shared the views of Lenine and Trotsky.
Mr. Simons. Yes ; that was a well-known fact. That came under
our observation again and again.
Senator King. So, then, Avhereas the soviet in the beginning might
be called a fair representative of the people, noAv it is merely a tool
of Lenine and Trotsky and the BolsheAdk administration ?
Mr. Simons. That is correct. I happen to know that shortly be-
fore I left Eussia fully 90 per cent of the peasants were anti-Bolshe-
vik, and it Avas said by people qualified to judge of the situation over
there that fully three-fourths of the workmen Avere anti-Bolshevik,
and they were hoping that Bolshevism would soon be defeated.
Senator Wolcott. I want to ask you. Doctor, if during the noon
hour you will refresh your recollection and be prepared when we
meet again to give us a list of all the commissars that you knoAV or
did know, with their correct names and their assumed names and the
nationality of each indicated ? Make up such a list, in so far as your
memory can carry you.
Mr. Simons. I think I have mentioned the names of those that I
really know.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 141
Senator Wolcott. None outside of those?
Mr. Simons. There were minor officials.
Senator Wolcott. But you can add to them any others you may
remember, as you think over it.
(Thereupon, at 1.30 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee took a recess
until 2.30 o'clock p. m.)
AFTER RECESS.
The subcommittee met at 2.30 o'clock p. m., pursuant to the taking
of recess, and at 2.40 o'clock proceeded with the hearing of Jtlr.
Simons.
TESTIMONY OF REVEKEND MR. GEORGE A. SIMONS— Resumed.
Senator Overman. Doctor, I understood you to say that you be-
longed to the Northern Methodist Church ?
Mr. Simons. The Methodist Episcopal Church North.
Senator Overman. As contradistinguished from the South? And
you were head not only of your mission over there but you were the
head of an educational institution, as I understand it?
Mr. SuroNS. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. What was the name of that?
Mr. Simons. We called it the English School of the American
Church. That was one name, and we also had a theological seminary
located there.
Senator Overman. You had a regvdar curriculum and faculty ?
Mr. Simons. Oh, yes.
I hope that I will not be misunderstood with regard to the facts
that came out in my testimony concerning the Jewish element in this
Bolshevik movement. I am not anti-Semitic and have no sympathy
with any movement of that kind, and some of my best friends in Eus-
sia and America are Jews, and as I have been moving around making
the matter clear before large audiences in churches and factories,
many Jews have come up and have thanked me for having said what
they regarded as true, and they assured me that the better class of
Jews — and there are hundreds of thousands of them in America —
would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Christians in fighting the
red flag.
Senator Overman. I understood that all the time you were speak-
ing of what is known as the
Mr. Simons. The apostate Jews. I only wish to be properly
quoted, because I should not like to offend those fine American citi-
zens who happen to be Jews, for they are just as good morally every
way as we Christians are.
Senator Overman. I think our newspaper reporters will make that
understood in their reports, that you are not speaking of anybody but
the apostates.
Mr. Simons. There are hundreds of rabbis who will help us in
this matter. I thank you for permitting me to clear that up.
Senator Wolcott. Do you have any names to add to the list I asked
you for?
Senator Overman. There is a lady here who has a complete list of
all those names.
142
BOLSHEVIK i-BUi-AUAJMUA.
Senator Wolcott. And giving their nationality, and where they
are from?
Maj. Humes. I think so.
Senator Wolcott. All right; we will get it from some other wit-
ness.
Senator Overman. Did you see this list of names that Mrs. Sum-
mers handed in?
Mr. Simons. I have seen at least four different lists, and the first
that came out I have in my possession here. This came out about
August, 1917, and was widely circulated in Petrograd and Moscow
[reading] :
Real name.
1. Chernoff Von Gutmann.
2. Trotsky Bronstein.
3. MartofE Zederbaum.
4. Kamkoff Katz.
5. Meshkoff Goldenberg.
6. Zagorsky Krochmal.
7. SuchanofC Gimmer.
8. Dan Gurvitch.
9. Parvuss Geldfand.
10. Kradek Sabelson.
Real name.
11. ZinovyefE Apfelbaum.
12. Stekloff Xachamkes.
13. Larin Lurye.
14. Ryazanoff Goldenbach.
15. Bogdanoff .Tosse.
16. Goryeff Goldmann.
17. Z\yezdin Wanstein.
18. Lieber Goldmann.
19. Ganezky Furstenberg.
20. Roshal Solomon.
And then the last one did not change his name. That is the first
list that we had.
Senator O^'erman. Do j'Ou know how many of those came from
America ?
Mr. Simons. I do not. I have not investigated.
Senator Wolcott. That is the list of men who were oiRcially con-
nected with the Bolshevik government?
' Mr. Simons. When this statement came out it was suggested that
'• These are the men who are now working against the provisional
Government with might and main and to bring in the Bolshevik
rule." Other lists followed.
Senator Overman. Why do you suppose they wanted to change
their names?
Mr. Simons. Soon after the outbreak of the war there were many
people in Russia who had German names and who had them changed
to Russian names, because- there was a strong anti-German move-
ment, and they were very much discriminated against, and to have a
German name was in fact to be insulted almost anywhere. It took
some time before, on the whole, that feeling subsided. When the
Russian revolution came along there was none of that to be seen any
more, and some of these people took their names back, changed them
back from the last form to the old German form ; but when the Bol-
shevik movement came on we noticed that there were ever so many
people who were Jews and had real Jewish names, who were not
using them. They had assumed Russian names. Now, there may be
two or three explanations given for that. One that has been offered
now and then is as follows: Some of these men had two or three
passports. You could get a passport if you needed it. from certain
agents in Russia, and we were told that even in New York City there
were certain people who were dealing in Russian passports. We
knew that there were such people in different parts of Europe, es-
pecially near the German-Russian border, and the Austro-Hungarian-
Russian border, who made a regular business of selling or loan-
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 143
ing out Eussian passports. A man would take a passport like that,
and then he would use that particular name.
Now, that is one explanation. Another explanation given is that
among the real Eussians there would be an antipathy against the
Jew, and a man having a real Jewish name would be discriminated
against.
Then there is another reason given by some of our friends who are
always up in the literary world in Eussia — and one is a famous
editor. These have said that perhaps the psychology of it could be
stated thus : We want to make this thing appear as a purely Eussian
thing, and if our real names, which ai'e nearly all Jewish names, ap-
pear, it will militate against the success of our experiment in social-
ism and government. People — millions of real Eussians — will say
'• That tiling is not Eussian. The names all show that."
Senator Overman. Did you know Trotsky?
Mr. Simons. I did not know him. I have been quoted in the papers
as having had conversations with Trotsky and Lenine, and having
shown them our discipline. I do not know how that story ever be-
came current, because I never said such a thing, never wrote it, and
never dreamed it, but the newspaper men will sometimes imagine
things.
Senator Overman. Did you hear him speak?
Mr. Simons. I have not.
Senator Overman. He did not change his name?
Mr. Simons. His name is Bronstein.
Senator Nelson. He is Yiddish ?
Senator Overman. Is he one of these Yiddish Jews? You call
them Yiddish instead of Jews, and I want to distinguish.
Mr. Simons. When we speak of the lower East Side, we are think-
ing of hundreds of thousands of people who are speaking and read-
ing several other languages as well as Yiddish.
I might mention this, that when the Bolsheviki came into power,
all over Petrograd we at once had a predominance of Yiddish procla-
mations, big posters, and everything in Yiddish. It became very
evident that now that was to be one of the great languages of Eiis-
sia ; and the real Eussians, of course, did not take very kindly to it.
Senator Nelson. Now, I should be glad to have you describe the
Bolshevik plan and system of government, their scheme and plan of
government, and as they proclaimed it and outlined it to the people.
This is the second time I have asked it.
Senator King. I want to ask, for my own information, do you
mean as they idealize it or as they apply it ?
Senator Nelson. Both. I want it so far as the written documents
are concerned, and as they apply it, both.
Mr. Simons. So far as the mechanical part of their government
is concerned, I think they have been quite consistent in carrying out
that end ; and as far as their proclamations have been concerned, we
regret to say that they not only consistently carry most of them out
but put in a lot more than was bargained for, if you please, and to
that extent that all kinds of atrocities and cruelties were committed
under the authority of this or that decree or proclamation.
Senator Nelson. What I mean is, what is the plan and scheme
of government that they offer to the people ? Outline their constitu-
tion.
144 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Simons. It is, as you have seen in most of the papers here, a
government that is to be, first, last, and all the time, predominantly
a government of the industrial workers. It is to be a government
of the so-called " workmen's councils," and it is a government of
the proletariat. ISIany of their phrases they have taken from the
communist manifesto of March, and one in particular, " a dictator-
ship of the proletariat."' A Bolshevik official would be asked, " Well,
how about liberty?" The chances are that he would answer as
Lenine and Trotsky did on several occasions, '' We do not believe in
liberty. We believe in the dictatorship of the proletariat." Now,
when I ha^ e mentioned that, Senator, I have given you, if you please,
the heart of their government scheme, and everything moves around
that.
The other part is quite, to mj' way of thinking, of little conse-
quence— the machinery. They have what they call 'the soviet govern-
ment, built up on the lines of a social democratic representation,
excluding, of course, everybody that is not Bolshevik. Or if he is not
Bolshevik, if he consefits to work with them and to just submerge his
own political opinions, well and good. He can hold office. In fact, we
know tliat right in Petrograd and Moscow there were hundreds of
men, scores of them, like myself, who were not Bolsheviks, that had
been in certain ministries under the old regime, and they had con-
tinued under the provisional government, and in order to save their
own lives and the lives of their families and to have food and com-
fort and what not, and be protected, they remained in office, although
for a time some of them had held out in wliat was called sabotage.
I knew some of these men and some of the things that we were able
to do. Favors that-Avere shown us as an American institution were
made possible through men who were anti-Bolshevik, but were in
the Bolshevik government; and if you will allow me to go off
on a tangent — it has come to my mind while I am speaking at
random — some of these men have told me, "We are staying in
office in the hopes that one of these days Bolshevism will weaken and
we shall be able to play the Trojan horse trick. They still had the
hope that something like that would happen — either the allies would
come in and do something or something else would happen — and then
they would be there. As a matter of fact, one of the greatest men of
Kussia, with whom I have had a good deal to do — he was formerly
an editor of the journal that was considered semiofficial — told me
shortly before I left, " Strange to say, I have been trying to get to
Kiev all these weeks, and I have had to go through more red tape
than under the old regime, and in their so-called department for in-
vestigating the character of the applicant, I found the same officials
seated at the desks as under the old regime. I recognized them and
they recognized me and they smiled."
Now, they were not Bolsheviks -at all. I knew it. I had occasion
to get a certain permission prior to leaving Russia, and it was after
the regular hours and I rushed into that one ministry and. lo and
behold, I found one of the most active of the anti-Bolslieviks holding
a prominent position there, and he said, "Why, I will get that
through for you," and he did. He said, " You know I am not Bol-
shevik. I have been trying all these months to get out of Eussia."
So there are hundreds of them.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 145
Senator OvEEistAN. What is the character of the nionev thev issue
there ?
Mr. SiMoxs. They have jiow been issuing hirgelv small currency,
which is stamps. That [indicating] is a 1-kopeck stamp. On the
other side it says, " To be used on a par with metal money." Then
they have what they call " kerenki," little bits of paper' about an
inch and a half or 2 inches square, without any registration num-
ber, simply " 20," and then a little .statement to the effect that it
is to be honored as legal tender, and then the other denomination is
" 40 " — stamped 20 rubles and 40 rubles kerenki. It became almost
valueless and the people would not accept them any more.
Perhaps, Senator Overman, the committee would like to know
what happened to us as we tried to get over the border, with regard
to our money. The ruling of the Bolshevik government Avas that
no one leaving Eussia. even though he were a foreigner, had a right
to take more than 1,000 rubles with him. The old money had largely
disappeared, but still could be bought at a premium of 10 rubles on
a hundred. So a couple of weeks before we left 1,000 rubles of the
old money would cost 1,100 rubles.
Senator Kixg. That is the other way, is it not ?
Mr. SiMOKS. Xo; wait a second; it was 20 rubles on a hundred.
So I bought 1,000 rubles of old Russian money, Catherine bills,
those famous old bills with Catherine's portrait invisible — you would
have to hold it up to the light and then you could see it; they are
very rare now, but by paying a premium of 20 rubles you could get
them — I bought 1,000 rubles' worth and paid 1,200 rubles in kerenki.
Also for my sister I tried to get the same amount. When we reached
the Russian-Finnish border, we were held up by a Bolshevik official,
who took out his own pocketbook, opened it, and began to count
out in kerenki 2,000 rubles. They made a very thorough search of my
sister and myself, such as had never been made under the provisional
government, or even under the old regime, and they discovered that
we had this amount. They wanted me to sign up on certain blanks,
and what not, and when they discovered that we had 2,000 rubles of
good old Russian money the officer began to count out the kerenki
and said to us, " You can not take out that old money. That is
against the law." I said to him, " Is not that regular Russian
money ? " " Yes, it is ; but we can not let you take it out, and here
you have 2,000 in kerenki.'' I looked at him — he was a young man
about 20 or 21, and looked like a rogue — and I said, " Young man,
I have been told by Zorin, the Commissar of the Post and Telegraph,
that if any disagreeable things happened to me on the border, I might
telephone or telegraph him and he would straighten things out." He
then grew pale, and telephoned to a gentleman higher up, who was
on the next floor, and said that he had a difficult case here, and
this was an Ameiican clergyman who had 2,000 rubles in Russian
money, which he said he could not take out, but then this clergy-
man had said that Zorin was going to come to his assistance if there •
was any trouble; and quick as a flash he took back his kerenki and
he says, " You can have your money."
Senator Ovebman. How much in our money is this stamp ?
Mr. Simons. The Russian ruble when h.A. wc were there was worth
10 cents. We could get 10 rubles for $1.
85723—19 10
146 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGA^^^DA.
Senator Xelson. In normal times how much was it I
]Mr. SiMuNs. A ruble was abont 51 cents, so we roughly speak of a
half a cent for a kopeck.
Senator Xelson. There are 100 kopecks in a ruble '?
Mr. SuroNS. Yes.
Senator Xelson. A ruble is in round numbers a half a dollar?
Mr. SiiiONs. Yes. It is now worth about 10 cents or less.
Senator Overmax. How much is that in our mone}', that kopeckf
Mr. SiJioNS. Well, that would be about one-twentieth of a cent.
Senator King. The Bolshevik government has issued a large
amount of paper money, has it?
Ml'. SijioNs. Yes; very much.
Senator King. Going into the billions of rubles ?
]Mr. SiJioNs. Yes. sir.
Senator Overjian. Is it a misdemeanor or felonj- not to take that
money? Suppose a man declines to take it?
]Mr. Simons. Yes; they have decrees, I understand, to that effect.
The peasants got so disgusted with them that they would not t.ike
them any more. But it was no use ; they were obliged to, and that of
course put up the prices of commodities very much, a pound of but-
ter selling for a hundred rubles.
Senator Wolcott. Was there any attempt made by the leaders of
this Bolshevik movement to spread in a systematized waj' these
immoral ideas to which you referred this morning ?
Mr. SiJioxs. It came under mj' observation that often in an
avowed way, quite a self-evident way, immoral forces were being
encouraged. I will try to be guarded in my remarks, knowing that
there are ladies here.
Senator Overman. Had we not better take that question up later
and ask the ladies to retire ?
Senator Wolcott. The doctor knows what he wants to say and
he can say it.
IMr. Simons. Let me use a concrete case. I will try to say the
thing in a way that will not be offensive to anybody. A few days
before I left, the president of our Ladies' Aid Society, a scholarly
woman who has been a teacher for more than 25 years in one of the
famous imperial institutions, called on me. I will not give you the
name of the institute because I would like to reserve that for some
other occasion, as I do not want this to get into the press and back to
Russia. She said^ bursting into sobs, " You know what a fine big
building we have. I want you to tell the women of America this,"
she said with much emotion, as she buried her face in her hands.
'• I am sorry I lived to witness all this." I said. " This is so distress-
ing to you that you had better not try to tell me. Write it out and
send it to me some time." But she said, '" No ; I must tell you." She
said, " On the first floor of our spacious institute, which used to be
a palace, you know those large rooms that we have on the first floor.
These Bolshevik officials have put hundreds of red soldiers, sailors,
and marines of the red army and the red navy and given orders that
in the other half of the same floor the girls of our institute should
remain, girls who are from 12 to 16 years." This affected her so
much that she burst out into tears. " I wish I had died before I
witnessed all this. But I want you to tell the women of America."
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 147
Senator Wolcott. Just a moment. That was not the doing of
just an irresponsible crowd of soldiers, or of a soldier mobi That
was the arrangement, do I imderstand you tc]oay, of the Bolshevik
officials ? '
Mr. Simons. That came under their admiiiistration.
Senator King. Of course, that meant that these poor girls were
left to the brutal lust of the red guards ?
Mr. Simons. You can draw your own conclusions.
Senator King. Was there any doubt about that, that it was the
purpose of it ?
Mr. Simons. I have seen so much of it that I would have to say
yes to what you ask.
Senator King. Is there any doubt of it?
Mr. Simons. No doubt in my mind. I am a little distressed here
because of the presence of ladies.
Senator King. You are stating it in a proper way. There is noth-
ing improper in stating that you have observed brutality and
bestiality.
Mr. SiJioNS. They are the dirtiest dogs I have ever come across in
my 4.5 years. They are so nasty that I can not find words to express
mj feelings. Some people have asked me if I was not exaggerating,
and I tell them no, to go over there and see with their own eyes.
Some of our own people are there as witnesses.
Well, she then went on and said, " But that is not all. The other
day the assistant of Lunacharsky, who was the Commissar of the Peo-
ple's Enlightenment, happened to be with a group of our girls from
our institute in a movie on the Nevski Prospect, and he turned
around to those little girls of 12 and 15 and 16 years and said, ' Lit-
tle girls, where are your bridegrooms? ' And they flushed and said,
' We have no bridegrooms.' ' Why don't you go on the Nevski Pros-
pect and do as the prostitutes are doing and get yourself one ? ' "
Excuse me for repeating these words.
Senator King. As far as I am concerned, I think that individual
acts would be material onljr as they reflect the conduct of the whole
organization. I would not want to blame the Bolsheviki for the
misdeeds of any individuals. If they are the acts of the individuals
it would not be right to blame the Bolsheviki for that, but if those
acts are the acts of the entire organization, or supported by the
organization, that would be relevant. Do you get the distinction ?
Mr. Simons. All right. I can only give you concrete examples.
The tenor of the whole regime, of course, has been quite immoral.
There is no getting away from that.
Senator King. Well, to be frank, do the Bolshevik guards and the
Bolshevists, the males, rape and ravish and despoil women at will ?
Mr. Simons. They certainly do. We happen to know that the
Lett regiment which Trotsky has been courting assiduously for
months refused to go to the front, and remained near the Tsarskoe
Selo Vogzal, or railroad station, and were there living on the fat
of the land, and the sanitar for that regiment — I will not mention
his name as he was a personal friend of mine and I must not get
him into trouble — reported these things to me, and he said that when
there was a scarcity of bread in town — many of us had not had
bread for weeks — they were having 2 pounds a day, three days l)?fore
148 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
Trotskj' came, and they,' were told. " You will also have pancakes,
2 pounds of bi'ead arday. and extra flour; and then when Trotslrp
comes there is lioino- tf be an extra celebration," and they did have it.
And then he said " Everythini;- in Petrograd belongs to you." I hate
to say it, but their boast was that they could have all the women they
wanted, and they could break into the houses with impunity.
.Senator Ki>(;. Did they pay the soldiers large sunis of money to
keep them in the army I
Mr. SiJio^'S. The reds were being given an extra wage. I under-
stand, and were shown extra favors.
Senator King. Senator Wolcott asked you about their propaganda.
Do j'ou know what efforts they made to extend their propaganda
into other countries '.
ilr. Simons. The statement was made again and again and vouched
for by people of high standing in Russia and over in the Scandi-
navian countries, to the effect that down in Leipzig they were printing
Russian money for the Bolshevik government. I have not been able
to get any substantiation for that. But I got this from a man who
was in the military mission of one of the allies, and he said that
10,000,000 rubles had been printed in Leipzig by order of the
Bolshevik government, for progapanda purposes.
Senator King. Do you know of people who were in Russia going
into other countries and engaging in Bolshevik progapanda? For
instance, John Reed; do you know of his having been there?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator King. Do j^ou know whether he came to the United States
and engaged in Bolshevik propaganda ?
Mr. Simons. I have not investigated that.
Senator King. Did he come to the United States ?
Mr. Simons. He came to the United States; yes.
Senator King. Do you Imow a woman who calls herself ^liss
Bryant? She was his wife?
Mr. Simons. I know of her.
Senator King. Was she in Russia, and did she and Mr. Reed asso-
ciate with the Bolshevists?
Mr. SiitoNs. They were reported to be very close to them, and
were spending a great deal of time in the Smolny Institute.
Senator King. Did you know that?
Mr. Simons. That was generally known in Petrograd.
Senator King. How long did you know of their being there?
Mr. Simons. I could not answer that off-hand, because I did not
have any particular interest in following them up, and did not know
that they would figure in this thing.
Senator King. Is she the woman who spoke in Poll's Theater under
the name of Miss Bryant ?
Mr. Simons. I understand she is the same woman.
Senator King. Do you know whether Mr. Reed is still in this
country ?
Mr. Simons. I understand so.
Senator King. Major, he is under indictment, is he not?
Maj. Humes. Yes, sir.
Senator King. He was there connected with the Bolsheviki?
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 149
Mr. Simons. He was persona grata with the Bolshe\'ik .govern-
ment to the extent that they wanted to make him their representative
here in Kew York.
Senator King. By the genuine Americans who were there, Avas lie
regarded as an American or aa a Bolshevik?
Mr. Simons. As a Bolshevik. We had a number of those Bolshe-
vik sympathizers there, and we thought ot them as — let me use the
proper expression — mush-headed and muddle-headed.
Senator Overman. Do you know of anybody being sent to this
country by the Bolsheviki for propaganda purposes ?
Mr. Simons. I have no direct proof.
Maj. Humes, Doctor, do you know whether or not any of these
Americans were exercising the rights of Russian citizenship and are
exercising the rights of Russian citizenship under the constitution
of Russia?
Mr. Simons. I can not speak as an official investigator, but it has
been brought to my attention that some of those men who were over
there had Russian passports and also American passports.
Maj. Humes. I call your attention to a section of the constitu-
tion
Senator King. You mean the Bolshevik constitution?
Maj. Humes. The Bolshevik constitution. [Reading:]
Basing Its actions upon tlie idea of solidarity of tlie toilers of all nations, tlie
R. S. F. S. R. grants all political rights of Russian citizenship to foreigners, who
live upon the territory of the Russian Republic, are engaged in productive occu-
pations and who belong either to the working class or to the peasant class that
do not exploit the labor of others.
Is that the provision of the constitution that makes it possible for
American citizens to go over there and participate in the Russian
Government as Russian citizens and exercise all the rights of citi-
zenship ?
Mr. Simons. I should say so, without being unfair to any of my
compatriots. One case was brought to my attention within the last
six months, when an American was seriously thinking of becoming
a citizen of the ^o-called Bolshevik Russia. I do not want to mention
his name, though.
Senator Wolcott. You do not know it as a matter of fact? Of
course, ii you know as a matter of fact you would be glad to tell
his name, I suppose.
Mr. Simons. If it is desired, I could tell you in executive session
who he was.
Senator Wolcott. If I knew that there was such a man who was
desiring to acquire citizenship with that outfit, I should be glad to
tell it. If you are only informed of it, that is another matter.
Mr. Simons. I will tell you in executive session who it was.
Senator Kiia!. Then, if we determine it is proper for the record,
it will go in.
Mr. Simons. I have pretty good proof that there was some con-
nection.
Maj. Humes. Is there any formality required in order to acquire
Russian citizenship? The constitution automatically, apparently,
forces it on residents in Russia.
Mr. Simons. I have not seen the operation of that, at all, and do
not know the modus operandi in actual operation.
150 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGAXDA.
Senator Kix<;. You kne^v Mr. Albert Rhys Williiinis there, who
spoke with IMrs. John Reed ?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator King. Do you know whether he was participating in any
meetings Mith the Bolshe-^iki ?
Mr. Simons. Yes, he was; he was taking part in their meetings
there. He -nas reported first in the jpapers as having taken part.
Senator King. Was he making speeches in favor of Bolshevism, in
their meetings, or combating their views ?
Mr. SiJioNs. Certainly not combating. He was heart and soul with
them. I met him a number of times in our embassy and also in our
consulate. When I happened to express myself in a very strong way
against the Bolsheviki, he was on the other side.
Senator King. Defending them?
Mr. SiJiONS. Speaking in very tender terms of them.
Senator King. Do you know how long he associated with them
there ?
Mr. SiJiONs. I think he was associated with them almost from the
incipiency of that movement.
Senator King. Did he pretend to be a Red Cross representative ?
Mr. Simons. No; he Avas a journalist. But there was another Wil-
liams who re^Dresented the Christian Herald. I should not like to
have him taken for this one. He spoke in our church once. He is a
fine Christian gentleman, 100 per cent American. I hope no one will
confuse the two.
Senator King. Did Mr. Albert Rhys Williams tell you that when
he left there he was coming back to the United States, or did you learn
from him in any way that he was to return to the United States?
Mr. SiJiONS. The last time I met him was in the embassy, and
things Mere then topsy turvy. My recollection is that he was going
back to the front to investigate things. That is as I recall.
Senator King. Do you know when he left ?
Mr. Simons. I do not.
Senator King. Do you know about his landing in San Francisco?
Mr. Simons. I do not.
Senator King. Do you know the character of literature that he
brought with him?
Mr. Simons. I understood that lie brought some literature over
which was partly in Russian, partly in English, and it was Bolshevik
literature, supporting the soviet government.
Senator Overman. Did Raymond Robins participate in any of
these Bolshevik meetings?
Mr. Simons. I do not know. He is spoken of very highly by the
Bolshevik leaders.
Senator Wolcott. They liked him. did they?
Mr. Simons. Well, judging from some of the things said concern-
ing him, he was reputed to be the best American of all.
Senator King. Give the names of some other Americans over there
that you know of who affiliated with the Bolsheviki.
Mr. Simons. I do not know whether it would be fair to answer the
question offhand, because of that expression " affiliated."
Senator King. I will withdraw that question. I would not want
to do any injustice to anybody. Do you know of any Americans over
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 151
there now, or those that may not be Americans but -who are now in
here apologizing for or speaking for or carrying on any propaganda
for the Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Simons. I reserve my answer to that for executive session, for
1 should not like to be quoted as having
Senator Overman. We have had some trouble about giving names.
Perhaps we had better reserve it for an executive session.
Senator King. I want to say tliat, as far as I am concerned, these
hearings shall be absolutely public, and whatever you tell us, I would
feel that it ought to be made public after you have verified it, because
everybody ought to know just what this committee does. But I am
speaking for myself. I withdraw the question now.
Maj. Humes. With reference to the treaty between the Bolshevik
government and the German Government, was tliat treaty ever
published in full in the Bolshevik papers, so that the people of
Eussia could know all of the facts in connection with that treaty I
Mr. SiMOxs. The statement was made again and again by well-
informed people in Russia that the treaty had not been fully pub-
lished, ancl that the Eussian translation which came out was a very
poor piece of work. And then it was said that another translation
would be made. But even then it was an open question whether or
no the full treaty had been made public. It always came out that
Lenine and Trotzky had kept certain things secret. What those
things were we never learned.
Maj. Humes. Do you know the capacity in which Albert Ehys
Williams came to this country from the Bolshevik government?
What is his capacity to-day in this country ?
Mr. Simons. I could not add any word from personal informa-
tion, but from what I have found in the press and what I have heard
from certain people who claim to know — I have been investigating
this thing — he is a self-confessed representative of Lenine and
Trotsky in this country.
Maj. Humes. And came over to organize a representative informa-
tion bureau in this country, did he not, in behalf of the Bolshevik
government ?
Mr. Simons. I understood that he had work of that nature to do.
Senator Overman. Is that the man who spoke here?
Maj. Humes. Yes.
Senator Nelson asked you a few moments ago with reference to
the form of government, in regard to the representation. Is the
representation in their Soviets and their several bodies proportioned
uniformly over the coimtry, or do they discriminate in different
districts ?
Senator Nelson. He has not answered my question, yet.
Maj. Humes. No; I realize that. Senator.
Mr. Simons. Why, it came out again and again that they were
putting in dummy delegates and controlling certain places by send-
ing down their own Bolshevik agitators, and what not, and thus
suppressing an anti- Bolshevik movement, which seemed quite immi-
nent in certain parts of the so-called Bolshevik country. We hap-
pen to know that there were villages in and around Petrograd and
Moscow — I have talked with a lot of people who had instant infor-
mation on this — where the people were anti-Bolshevik, but that the
152 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Bolshevik authorities had a way of manipuhiting things so that
everything would look, at least on paper, as if the Bolsheviki were
ruling everything in sight. But, as a matter of fact, there were
scores of villages which would not even let a Bolshevik official come
into the precincts of the village. They had machine guns on either
end of the main road which would go through the village. Now, I
have spoken with people who came from the villages. "We had
churches in some. They said that they had guards watching day and
night, and the moment a Bolshevik hove in; sight the}- would
kill him. And they had a regular system by which they were keep-
ing the Bolsheviki away.
Senator King. As a matter of fact, up to the present moment the
Bolshevik government is merely a military dictatorship under the
rule of Leniiie and Trotsky?
Mr. Simons. Yes. And they are using their dictatorship to put
the proletariat in harmony with the communist manifesto in order
to please the hoi polloi.
Maj. Humes. The point that I was raising is, is it not a fact
that the representation in the old Russian soviet was based on 1 to
each 125,000 people in the cities, while the representation is 1 to
25,000 people in the provincial districts and the less thickly popu-
lated districts?
Mr. Simons. I have not gone into that.
Senator Xelson. Well, the Russian farmers are settled in villages,
mostly ?
Mr. Simons. Yes; as a rule.
Senator Xelson. And their village communities, or mirs, as I be-
lieve they call them.
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And they own the land, do they not; the mir
owns the land?
^Ir. Simons. Yes; and it is parceled out.
Senator Nelson. Parceled out for use from time to time?
!Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Now, each of those mirs is supposed to have its
own soA'iet system of government, to elect a local soviet council, is
it not?
]Mr. Simons. That is the scheme.
Senator Nelson. That is part of the scheme. And the same thing
takes place in cities or wards or sections of cities, in proportion to
population ? They Iuia'c also local Soviets I
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And these local so\iets send representatives to
the general soviet assembly.
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And that constitutes the soviet government?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator Nelson. A good share of the farmers or the peasants, we
Diight call them, are not in this soviet government; that is, I mean,
the Bolshevik soviet government?
Mr. Simons. I can not tell you what percentage of the villages are
Qot talring part in that Bolshevik government, in the Bolshevik
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 153
territory. But it is generally stated bj' people Avho know something
about the Russian situation, and nearly all of us Americans who
came out about the same time are a unit in saying, that fully 90 pvr
centof the peasants are anti-Bolshevik. From that you would con-
clude that they would not' take part in the Bolshevik go\'ernment.
And another statement made — I think 1 made it this morning — is that
at least two-thirds of the Avorkmen are ant'i-Bolshevik.
Senator Nelson". Noav. have not the anti-Bolshevik forces — and
in that I include the Czecho- Slovaks, the sound Russians, and the
English, and French, and the Japanese — have they not practical
control of the Siberian railroad as far west as Perm — west to Omsk?
Mr. Simons. Well, I am not qualified to tell you how things stand
there to-day. I am not omniscient. But from what I have learned
all these months, I judge that they do hold control there.
Senator Nelson. Have you visited the southern part of Russia,
the Ukrainian country?
Mr. Simons. Not recently. It was almost impossible to get down
there without having influence with the leaders of the Bolshevik
government.
Senator Nelson. Did they have control of things in the Ukraine?
Mr. Simons. You had to get special permission to go down there.
There were distinguished people who sat there for months and
months waiting for permission.
Senator Nelson. Is not that the heart of the Russian population
along the vallej^s of the Dneiper and the Don, and their tributaries ;
is not the heart of the Russian population confined to those regions —
and the Volga — take the western rivers, the Dneiper, and then Kiev, ■
the capital of Ukrainia, which is situated on the Dneiper?
Mr. Simons. I think it might be roughly stated so, yes. Some of
them claim that the heart of the Russian nation is found in the Rus-
sian church ; that is where the soul is.
Senator Nelson. The spiritual heart. But I mean the rural heart.
Is not that in the Black Belt?
Mr. Simons. I should hate to make a sweeping assertion, because
in normal times we have in Moscow 1,000,000 people, and in Petro-
grad 2,000,000, and there, of course, you find hundreds of thou-
sands of real Russians who represent, if you please, in a very real
way the heart of Russia, and most of them at some time or another
came from a village.
Senator Nelson. You have never carried on your operations in
southern Russia?
Mr. Simons. No.
Senator Nelson. In Kiev or Odessa?
Mr. Simons. No. I have been down among the Molokanes, or
milk drinkers ; I have been familiar with that section of the country.
You could hardly call that the heart of Russia, although they are.
patriotic Russians. There are hundreds of thousands of Stundists,
or Molokanes, and tens of thousands of so-called German colonists,
but I would not like to speak of the heart of Russia as being confined
to any particular territory.
Senator Nelson. But Little Russia was the center of the Slav race
at one time, was it not ?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
154 BOLSHEVIK peopaga:n-da.
Senator Xelson. They started from there, and that is the center
of it. The capital was Kiev, was it not?
Mr. Snioxs. That is the old historic capital.
Senator Nelson. Have you ever been at Nijni Novgorod ?
Mr. Simons. I have never been there.
Senator Nelson. That is not a great ways from Moscow, on the
upper Volga.
Mr. Simons. I had to put off many of these things because of extra
duties connected with our church during the great war. For almost
six years I even have not been in America, and our bishop has not
been over since the summer of 1913, so, of course, all those duties
devolved upon me and I could not very well travel around.
Senator Nelson. Then you are not able to say how all of tliat big
southern part of Russia stands on this Bolshevik government?
Mr. Simons. Except from certain reports. I happened to have some
of my men down there and they wrote up and told me, and I might
tell what came up from that section ; but there have been such kaleido-
scopic changes taking place that what would hold true of September
and October would not hold true of November and December, and
might not hold true now.
Senator Nelson. That is true.
Mr. Simons. But I think it is safe to say that the Bolshevik area
does not take in more than one-fourth of the real Russia. I think
it is safe to say that.
Senator Nelson. Does it take in anything of Russian Poland?
Mr. Simons. Yes; I think it does; I think it takes all of that
section there. I have not a map here, so of course, I can not go into
details.
Senator Overman. Do you know whether or not they are going
on with their propaganda in England and Germany and France ?
Mr. Simons. I have heard from men who are investigating that,
with whom I have had long conferences in Stockholm and Chris-
tiania, that very active propaganda is being carried on in England.
Senator Nelson. Did you meet Mr. Leonard over there? He was
connected with the consular service ?
Mr. Simons. He was in Russia as one of the several secretaries of
the Y. M. C. A., under Dr. Mott's supervision, and when the
Bolshevik revolution came on, he and another Y. M. C. A. man by
the name of Berry, I think, both went into the consular service.
They were later arrested, and the reports we got were to the effect
that they were imprisoned for almost three months, and recently
they have been released and have returned to America.
Maj. Humes. Senator, for your information — you wei'e asking
about the propaganda — here is a translation of one of the orders
of the Bolshevik government on the question of propaganda. This
is the official order published December 13, 1917 [reading] :
Order for the appropriation of 2,000,000 rubles for ttie requirements of
the revolutionary internationalist movement.
Whereas the soviet authority stands on the ground of the principles of
the international solidarity of the proletariat and the brotherhood of the
workers of all countries, and whereas the struggle against the war and im-
perialism can lead to complete victory only if conducted on an international
scale,
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 155
Tlie Council of Peoples Commlssai-ies consider it absolutely necessary to
take every possible means including expenditure of money, for the assistance
•of the left internationalist wing of the workingman movement of all countries
■whether these countries are at war or in alliance with Russia or are maintain-
ing a neutral position.
To this end the Council of the Peoples Commissaries orders the appropria-
tion for the requirements of the revolutionary internationalist movement to
be put at the disposal of the foreign representatives of the Coinniissariat of
Foreign Affairs, ten million rubles.
(Signed) Xenine.
Tkotsky.
Senator Overman. It would seem from that order that they ^^'ere
using propaganda for the entire world.
Senator Nelson. Did you say you have any other lists besides the
one that you have there?
Mr. Simons. No; not with me.
Senator Nelson. Could you supply that other list?
Mr. Simons. I will look over my papers and see if I can find it.
Senator Nelson. And you can send it in to the chairman, if you
can find it.
Senator Overman. Do you know if any official of the Government
of this country is Bolshevik? Or would you rather not answer as
to that except in executive session?
Mr. Simons. I have no proof. I think in executive session 1 might
giv& you some information which would be helpful, at least in a way.
If you could find out whether any men are out and out against the
Ted flag, and if they are not, why you can form your own conclusions.
Senator Nelson. You mean out and out for the red flag?
Mr. Simons. I put it in the negative way. You can find out if they
are really against the red flag, and if they are not, I have nothing
more to sav*.
Senator Overman. Are there any I. W. W.'s in Russia?
Mr. Simons. I understand that quite a number of those men who
came over to Petrograd soon after Trotsky arrived had been identi-
fied with the I. W. W. here in America, and it is remarkable that a
good deal of the literature which I have seen among the Bolsheviki
in Russia is like the I. W. W. literature that I find here in English,
and their tactics are pretty much the same. Take, for instance, the
I. W. W. song, To Fan the Flames of Discontent, and so on. Take
this red-flag hymn — possibly you are familiar with it — also The In-
ternationale, as they call it; have practically all of that in Rus-
sian, too. And I find that there is quite a similarity between the
Bolshevik movement and the I. W. W.
Senator Overman. How many verses are there in that red-flag
song?
Mr. Simons. The Red Flag? Shall I read it?
Senator Overman. I wish you would.
Mr. Simons. It is sung to the tune of Maryland, My Maryland, ar-
raxiged by Finstenberg. The words are by James Connell. [Reading :]
15f) BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
The Red Flag.
By James Co-nxell.
The workci-s' flng Is deepest red.
It shrouded eft our martyred dead;
And ere their limbs grew stiff and eold
Tlieir life-bhxid dyed its every fold.
C'HOIUS.
Then raise the scarlet standard high;
Beneath its folds we 11 live and die,
Thougli cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll lieep the red flag flying here.
Loolv 'round, tlie Frenchman loves its blaze,
The sturdy (Jerman chants its praise ;
In il<isr(iw's vaults its hymns are sung.
(_'liir:ig(i swells its surging song.
It waved above our infant might
When all ahead seemed dark as night ;
It witnessed many a deed and vow.
We will not change its color now.
It suits ti 1-day the meek and base.
Wliose minds are ttxed on pelf and place;
To cringe beneath tlie rich man's frown.
And haul that sacred emblem down.
With heads uncovered, swear we all,
To bear it onward till we fall ;
Come dungeons dark, or gallows grim.
This song shall be our parting hymn !
Maj. Humes. Doctor, have you any information as to any attempt
or attempts being made in this country to form so-called Soviets?
Senator Nelson. You mean in this country?
Maj. Humes. Yes, sir.
Mr. Simons. Only as I have found articles in the newspapers, and
have gotten hold of some of their literature. You -will find quite a lot
of literature published under the auspices of the Eand School of So-
cial Science in New York and kindred organizations, in English and
Eussian.both. The Communist ^Manifesto, which is the official pro-
gram of the Bolshe'S'iki. is being sold in Russian and English both.
They have a little article here on the Old Red Flag, which goes to
prove that the flag of the early Christians was a red flag, and what
not, and then they have a Russian scene back here, pretty much the
same kind of a scene that they have been sending over in Russia
among the Bolshevikis, and this, I understand, is being used for
propagandist purposes among the tens of thousands of Russian work-
men in America. Then they have some pamphlets by Lenine and
Trotzky in Russian.
Senator Woucott. They are published, you say, by this Rand
School of Social Science, put out by them?
^Ir. Simons. They are sold there and some are published there.
Others are published by the Socialist Literature Co., 15 Spruce Street,
New York, and by a Russian newspaper in Xe-w York.
Maj. HuJiEs. That is the paper that Trotsky was formerly con-
nected with in this countrv ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 157
Mr. Simons. I think so.
Senator King. And he is a Bolshevist now ?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; and a good deal of this literature is gotten out
by Charles H. Kerr & Co., of Chicago.
Senator King. Have you made any investigation to find out who
is paying for them?
Senator Nelson. We have just had that. They have appropriated
2,000,000 rubles for this international propaganda. He just read
here, while you were out of the room, that they had appropriated
2,000,000 rubles for international propaganda.
Senator Overman. They must have some agent who is getting out
those pamphlets here, who represents that Government.
Mr. Simons. They Avere printing, at the time of the early period
of the Bolshevik regime, pamphlets on Bolshevism and the Soviet
Government by Lenine and Trotsky, in English, in Petrogxad. That
was in the winter of 1918. I have seen copies of that.
Senator Nelson. I had a copy of it myself, sent to me almost a year
ago, I think.
Mr. Simons. And I understand from what they told me — I do not
know how true it is — that John Eeed and Albert Williams helped
to put these things into proper English.
Senator King. Is Albert Williams this man you have already
spoken of?
Mr. Simons. Y&s. I can not vouch for that. I only have heard
that.
Maj. Humes. This morning you testified with reference to the
terrorism as against the so-called bourgeois. Does not that terrorism
apply to the peasant and working classes as well as to the bourgeois?
Mr. Simons. In some instance; yes. Instances have been brought
to our attention where there were groups of workmen who were anti-
Bolshevik, and who were hoping to create a movement to overthrow
the Bolshevik regime. They were promptly arrested, and what their
punishment was we do not know, but there were at least two factions
which figured in this thing again and again in Petrograd, even last
summer, and it was hoped by certain people in Petrograd that they
would succeed, and that other groups of workmen would join them;
and then came, as the result of that, very drastic measures on the
part of the Bolshevik leaders, and cases were brought to our atten-
tion where often in homes of peasants that could be reached, and
homes of workmen, they had to pay dearly.
Senator King. You mean in suffering?
Mr. Simons. Yes.
Senator King. You. do not mean in money ?
Mr. Simons. They had to pay dearly in suffering, in being ar-
rested, and so on.
Senator King. Were some of them killed?
Mr. Simons. There have been instances on record where certain
workpien and members of their families have been killed, but when
these things were investigated, often we heard this kind of excuse
given, " That man was guilty of disloyalty to his party, and that is
why he was treated the way he was."
Mai. Humes. In other words, they believed in the execution of
so-called political offenders?
158 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Simons. Yes; they decidedly did.
Senator Oveemax. Are there any courts left, there, to administer
any laws ?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; they had courts. I appeared before the court a
number of times, when we could not get the workmen to shovel our
snow away. We had the heaviest fall of snow, some of the old resi-
dents of Petrograd said, that had ever been on record, so the officials
in the local commissariat came around and said that if we did not
have the snow shoveled away — we had a very big property there,
and being on the corner, of course, we had twice as much as any
other property would have on the block to shovel away — that if we
did not have that snow shoveled away by a certain time on the fol-
lowing day, we would be fined, let us sa)', 500 rubles, and before they
had their proclamation out and what not, I was cited to court.
The court was made up of a very silly looking workman and an
insipid looking Red Guard, and the other man was as shy as a maiden
of 16 Avho had just been kissed. I was brought before them, and
they hardly knew how to ask any questions, but they at once said to
me, " We cto not want to hear your testimony. You are a bourgeois.
We want to hear what your dvornik says. So our dvornik had to
tell the storji-, and the sum and substance of the testimony was that
we had not been doing anything wrong, but the authorities had not
been taking care of a certain gas light which, according to the Rus-
sian system, had to be pumped out every day or water accumulated,
and they had not taken the proper care of it, so there got to be quite
a lot of ice around there, and they were going to hold me guilty for
that, but the testimony we brought in showed they had not been
doing their work properly, and then they felt shamefaced; but they
ordered him into another room to see whether he would not give some
testimony against that capitalist, but he stood his ground firmly, and
came out and afterwards told me how they had subjected him to all
kinds of questions, trying to get him to say something which would
be unfair to me. He had received only kindness at my hands, and
so, being a pretty fair sort of individual, he spoke the truth and
nothing but the truth. Then, when he came out they again sat in
session and told me that they would give me another chance to clean
that snow away.
Senator Nelson. That was a soviet court.
Mr. Simons. A soviet court. I have been in other courts under
the old regime, and they were very fine, scholarly men.
Senator King. You stick to the facts. Doctor.
]Maj. HuiNiES. Is it not the practice of these courts not to receive
the testimony of the so-called bourgeois?
]Mr. Simons. They are very much discriminated against. I have
lieard that from a good many sources.
Maj. Humes. Even in court their testimony is not received as the
testimony of others?
Mr. Simons. Yes ; that is quite true. I have talked with a number
:)f men of our own American colony who have been brought to court, ■
and one happened to have a diamond ring, and that led to his
jeing fined, as I remember. 10.000 rubles. If he had not had that
ring, he says the chances are tliey would not have fined him. Pardon
ne. Senator, I do not like to go into all these details, but von are put-
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 159
ting questions to lue that bring up all kinds of things, and perhaps
the things I cite may add a little light.
Senator Overman. We are very glad to have you tell it in your <)\vu
way, and you have thrown a great deal of light on the subject, Doc-
tor, and we are very much obliged to you.
Mr. Simons. I have not been able to get away from one thing, that
there is being fanned constantly an antibourgeois feeling. You feel
it as you go along the street. The saddest thing I have to relate is
this. My sister was a rheumatic for almost four years. Soon after
the Bolsheviki came into power she was trying to get from our place
down to the next line, where there was a car line that would bring
her to a certain part of the city, and the snow was about that deep
[indicating] and she slipped and fell, and there were Russian girls
from the, factory Avho came by and looked at her and used abusive
language, and called her a bourgeois, and what not, and said, " Let her
lie there," and what not, and my sister burst out into tears. She
struggled again and again to get onto her feet. She said, as she came
home, that she had ahvays felt that the Russian women were \ery
sympathetic, but they \fere now so cruel, simply because she was
dressed like a lady, and she struggled there for at least 10 minutes
before she got out of that position. She came back and said it just
distressed her so that they let her suffer. That is their temper, and
in their press and in their proclamation it is the same old diabolical
thing, class war, not only for Russia, but for the whole world, and be
just as mean as you can to your fellow man, especially if he is dressed
like a gentleman or lady. Now. if anybody has different testimony
on those people, I submit they have not seen them in actual operation.
Senator King. Would you say that that feeling permeated the
peasants generally to any extent?
Mr. Simons. The average peasant is one of the most lovable men
you can meet anywhere in the M'orld. I want to tell you that I have
not found a better type of man or woman than in the Russian vil-
lages, and even among the workmen, of whom I knew thousands,
and I always felt pretty safe with them until these Bolsheviki came
in power.
Senator King. Have they been able to eradicate that feeling of, I
might call it unsophistication, and in a religious way mysticism, that
predominates so much in the peasant's mind or life ?
Mr. Simons. Well, they appealed, if you please, to the lower pas-
sions and instincts, and they made promises to those people such as
these. They would say, " Now, all the land is to be yours." For in-
stance, there was timber on the estates of some of the titled people
that we knew in the villages or near the villages outside of Petrograd.
and they would say, " You can help yourself. You do not have to pay
for it. You can have anything and everything you want. It is all
vours now • it belongs to the people." That appealed to many of these
ipeople; but then afterwards they came out with this kind of testi-
mony as did hundreds of workmen who were left in charge of the
factones without raw material or any money, and with the machinery
broken " We oAvn everything, but we can not use it. We are worse
off now than we were under the old system."
Senator King. To what extent did the peasants commit atrocities
upon the landowners in their immediate vicinities, and deprive owners
of their homes and property ?
160 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGAKPA.
]Mr. SnroNs. There have been ever m3 many ca-es rei^orted. and
s(jme of them by people of my own acquaintance, who have had large
estates, and after they had told me all the-e things, of the depreda-
tions committed by these infuriated peasants who had been indoc-
trinated by Bolshevism, they ^aid. '' "We know those peasants are
going to become sober minded against Socialism, because two or
three have come back and said, ' We repent of all ive ha-\ e done.
AVhat can we do to show you that we still love you '.' "
Senator King. To what extent have the prelates and ecclesiastics
influenced or lost influence over the peasants?
Mr. Suroxs. I am sorry to say that the average Russian pi-iest
never had the respect or even the affection of the i^eople at large.
There was a sort of feeling against them. I hope I am not saving
anj'thing that will be usecl by people who are against the Eussian
church. I am very friendly toward that institution. Her dignita-
ries have sent greetings to us and our bishops, and we have sustained
ideal fraternal relations with that church. As you know, there is a
movement on foot to bring about some kind of a union between the
Russian orthodox church and the Methodist Episcopal Church in
the United States, and Avhile I preface my remarks with all that,
\et the fact is this, that the priests of the Russian Orthodox churcli
on the whole have not been respected, and in many cases ha^"e been
maligned and abused, and especially since the BolsheA'iki have come
into power. They have found that they could take this prejudice
on the part of the Russian people and use it as a weapon against the
Russian orthodox church, which was suspected of being monarchistic,
and that has come out again and again in the Bolshevik attacks on
the church. They look upon the church as a reactionary institution.
Senator King. That is, the Bolsheviks?
Mr. Simons. The Bolsheviks ; yes.
Senator King. Has there been a confiscation of church property
and buildings?
Mr. SiJioNs. Yes, sir: and in quite a number of instances monas-
teries, with their wealth, have been taken, and all kinds of indecent
things have been done by certain Bolshevik officials.
I have some data showing that they have turned certain churches
and monasteries into dancing halls, and one instance has been re-
ported to me where a certain Bolshevik official went into a churcl)
while the people were there waiting for the sacrament, and thre^v
the priest out, so I am told, and himself put on the clerical garb,
and then Avent on the altar and made a comedy of the ritual, which
stirred up the religions sense of the jDeople to that extent that they
threatened — of course, among themselves — that they would yet kill
that man. He happened to be an apostate Jew. Other horrible
things have been done. I do not charge all those things to the
Bolshevik government, but they were happening under their auspices,
as it seems. I have seen priests march down the street in front of
our house with a little bag hanging over their shoulders, for no other
reason than that they were suspected of being anti-Bolshevik and reac-
tionary. There are records over there showing that certain innocent
priests were killed without a trial, and some of them killed in Kron-
stadt. All those facts can be gotten through the Xorwegian Legation.
Senator King. What became of those that you saw nnirch liy your
place? Were they imprisoned?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 161
Mr. Snioxs. What is that?
Senator King. I understood you to sav vou had seen priests march
by your place?
Mr. Simons. Yes; I have seen them again and ao;ain marched down
tlie prospect, and put on a barge of some kind and taken do^yn to
Kronstadt and kept there. One gentleman of the Norwegian Le-
gation, told me several times that'he had proof .showing that some
of these men had been killed, as well as quite a number of ,oflicers.
He himself one Sunday afternoon was a witness. This was aftei' an
awful storm, one of the wor^-t storms we ever had over there. It
was Sunday afternoon. On the sliore of the gulf, just opposite
Kronstadt, bodies had been washed ashore. Thei'e wei'e, as I recall
his statement, either two or three Rirssian officers tied together.
He was of the opinion that it was at that time when they threw many
of them — that is, as the report came out, hundreds of them — over-
board. I do not know whether it was true or not. hut I thought it
was. These men had been washed ashore. They were Russian
officers, two or three of them tied together.
Senator Kixo. In the ])i'ess that Avas recognized by them — the
Bolshevist official press — were thei'e accounts of homicides based upon
the ground that the killing was justified because those who were
killed were anti-Bolsheviki?
Mr. Simons. Senator, their press was largely made up of deceits,
and threats of what they were going to do not only to the Bourgeois
class, but also to the capitalists all over the world, and we did not get
hardly any news at all. Now and then there would be telegi'ams
which were supposed to have come from America, stating that all
England was on strike, and all America, and that there was not a
single railroad in the United States that was running, and things
of that kind, and everything was looking very bright for Bolshevism
abroad. That was the tenor of their press. Things that were actually
taking place would rarely be reported, as you and I would expect.
Senator King. In your contact with the Bolshevik leaders there
did they conceal their purpose to u.se force to destroy the classes there
that were above the proletariet; that is, the bourgeois?
Mr. Simons. Did they conceal it?
Senator King. Did they conceal their purpose to destroy, by force
and by starvation or otherwise, the bourgeois?
Mr. Simons. They never concealed it; no. Thev came right out
with it boldly; and if you will take the Communist Manifesto you
Avill find that in about the last paragraph is where they have their
inspiration. I do npt know whether you recall that. The last word
is their motto, which appears on all their papers in the left-hand
corner of the first page, " Proletarians of all countries and nations
imite." And "finally they labor everywhere" — that is, the prole-
tarians or communists: the Bolsheviks call themselves communists
also " finallv they labor eveiywhere for union and agreement of the
democratic parties of all countries. The connnunists disdain to con-
ceal their aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained
onlv bv the forcible overthrow of all existing social condition'^."'
By the forcible overthroAv of all existing social conditions ! " Let the
rulino- classes tremble at a communistic revolution. The proletarians
have nothing to lose, but they have a world to win. Proletarians of
85723—19 11
16'2 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
all nations unite I " Here they iise the -woids - working men,"' but
it is " proletarians " in the original.
Senator Kikg. Have you discovered a number of Russians over
here in this coinitry who were engaged in Bolshevik propaganda^
Mr. Si:\ioxs. I know of them.
Senator King. On the East Side, are most of the Russians there
J ews X
Mr. Simons. I understand that most of the so-called Russians on
the East Side are divided into two camps, the Russian Jew camp
and the so-called real Russian camp, which takes in people who are
Slovak, who still adhere to the Russian orthodox religion.
Senator Overman. Doctor, you spolce of meeting these apostate
Jews in Petrograd. In talking to them, did thej^ tell you what
they were doing in Russia and what their purpose was in going
there? You say thejr came and spoke to you because they Imew
Mr. Simons. The burden of their conversation with me was sim-
ply this, that I should use whatever influence I had with the Amer-
ican Red Cross to have it stand by the soviet. That was the burden
of their talk, but I never felt that I had any mission to jDerform
in that capacit3^
Senator King. Did any of them announce the object tliey had in
Russia, what part they were playing in the revolution?
Mr. Simons. Xo, sir; not to me.
Senator Overman. "Was there any considerable number of them?
Mr. Simons. Who came to see me?
Senator Overman. That you saw there?
Mr. Simons. Or whom I met? I imagine that we encountered
at least a couple of dozen of them. Some of them were speaking
English. I will tell you this, that one of them afterwards came
to me and had supper in our home, and he told me among other
things, " You know we have had the best training in the world,
and that enables us to out-Jesuit the Jesuits." I am not speaking
against the Jews, but I am only telling you how some of these
fellows felt, that they had the most superior training ; and this man
■went so far as to say, " There is no more superior training that any-
body can get in the world than we have been getting."
(At 4.20 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee went into executive session.
At .5.45 o'clock p. m., at the close of the executive session, the subcom-
mittee adjourned, to meet to-morrow, February 1?.. 1919, at 10.30
o'clock a. m.)
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAG AIS^DA .
THUBSDAY, FEBRITABY 13, 1919.
United States Senate,
Subcoii:mittee of the Committee on the Judiciaey,
Washington, D. C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10.30 o'clock
a. m., in room 228, Senate Office Building, Senator Lee S. Overman
presiding.
Present: Senators Overman (chairman), King, Wolcott, and
Nelson.
Senator OvEE^rAN. The committee will come to order. I have re-
ceived the following telegram, which I think I will put in the record.
[Eeading :]
Xf.w York, Fehruanj 12. I'M'.l
Senator 0^'ER^tAIf,
U)iitecl t<t(ites Senate, Washinriton. D. C:
I empliatically protest against the suggestion in the testimony before the
propaganda investigating committee that Jews form the life of Bolshevism in
Russia. The list of names submitted to your committee contains at least a
half dozen people who are violently opposed to Bolshevism and are fighting it
tooth and nail. The " Bund." the biggest Jewish socialist party in Russia, is lead-
ing the fight on Lenine and Trotsky. It is un.iust to indict a v.'hole people by
insidious suggestion. By doing so the testimony submitted before your com-
mittee is playing into the hands of the Black Hundreds who are only waiting
for the downfall of Bolshevism to massacre Jews in Russia. I know whereof
I speak for I have recently returned from Russia, where I represented the
United Press Associations. Bolshevism is tyrrany and despotism and the
greatest insanity the modern world has known, but in the name of justice do
not blame the Jewish people for it. Blame the centuries of Czarism which
kept the Russian people in ignorance and made Bolshevism inevitable.
Joseph Shaplen,
415 Ninth Street, Brooldyn, N. T.
I want to say, in justice to Dr. Simons's testimony here, that he
made no insidious charges against the Jews, but only against the
apostate Jews. He tried to emphasize that several times. So that his
remarks were favorable to the real Jews rather than against them.
Now, Maj. Humes, proceed.
TESTIMONY OF MR. R, B. DENNIS.
(The witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Maj, Humes. Where do you reside, Doctor?
Mr. Dennis. Evanston, 111.
Maj. Htjmes. What is your business?
Mr. Dennis. Teacher in Xorthwestern University.
Mai Hu'^xEs. Have you recently been in Eussia '.
•'■ Hi.-!
164 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGAKDA.
Mr. Dexxis. I left Eussia September -2, l;i>t year.
^laj. Humes. How long had you been there?
Jlr. Dex'xis. Since Xovember 1.
Maj. Hx-MES. 1917?
Sh: Dexxis. Yes.
^laj. Humes. In what capacity did you go to Eussia ?
ilr. Denxis. I went to Eussia for the American Y. M. C. A.
ilaj. Hi 3IES. How long did you continue in the service of the
Y. ^I. C. A., and what did you then take up?
]\rr. Dexxis. I changed from the Y. il. C. A. to the Consular Serv-
ice on April 1, as I remember the date.
^laj. Humes. AYheri' did you fii-st go in Eussia?
]Mr. Dexxis. I entered at ^"ladivostok and went across to Moscow-
went south to the Caucasus — to Eostov-on-the-Don and Xovo Tcher-
kask. Then Ave came back to the Ukiaine. to Kharkov, and from
there to Moscow and Pctrograd.
Senator Xelsox. Were you at Kiev?
Mr. Dexxis. The Germans were there.
Senator Overmax. Do you speak the Eussian language?
]Mr. Dexxis. I can splash about in it now. I can understand it
i-easonabjy well, or could when I left there.
I lived for about tvro and a half months at Eostov, a month in
the city of Petrograd, three months in Xijni Novgorod.
Maj. Hx':\rEs. If you arrived there in November, 1917. Avas that
before the Noveml)er revolution?
^Ir. Dex^xts. That took place while we were on the trans-Siberian.
_\Vc arrived in Moscow immediatelj^ following that.
ilaj. Hu:wES. Will j^ou go on in your own way and tell us the
conditions as you found them, and about the conditions as they de-
veloped from time to time, the character of the government, the way
the government was maintaining itself and perpetuating itself at
the different points where you Avere residing?
Mr. Dexxis. You give me a Avide-open question like that and I
am liable to talk vou to death, because I can make a long answer to
that.
^laj. Humes. That is Avhat Ave Avant. We want a detailed ansAver
of just the situation as you found it.
Ml-. Dexxis. I had a good chance to see hoAv it Avorked in the city
of Eostov, because in that district Kaladines and Korniloff made
their attempt.
Senator Nelsox. That is in the T'kraine, is it ?
i\[r. Dexxis. That is in the Don Cossack basin, a little farther
east.
Senator Nelsox. Is it on the Don?
Mr. Dexxis. On the Don: 30 miles from the mouth of the Don
Eiver Avhere it floAvs into the Sea of Azov. I Avas there when Kala-
dines connnitted suicide, and I Avas there AA-hen Korniloff made his
final defense of that city and it Avas taken by the Eed Guard.
Senator Neesox. You call the Bolshevist government troops the
Eed Guard ?
^fr. Dexxis. Yes: the reds are Bolshevik and the Avhites are to
the contrary. I think the oxpei-ience there Ava- not much different
fro..i elscAvhere. Thev trok the toAvn. after a AA'liile. Korniloff knew
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 16f.
that he waw going to be defeated, and made a rear guard defense of
the citj', and the Red army, officered by Germans, took the city.
Senator Nelson. How big a phice is llost
ov
V
Mr. De>->,^i.s. Tliree hundred tlionsiind.
Senator Xelsox. Go on.
Mr. Dexn:s. For four <Uiys tlioy cleaned tlie thinii' u]) scientifically.
Senator XELSt)x. How?
Mr. Den:nis. With armored cars and machine guns and soldiess.
At -i o'clock every afternoon the thing was tuned up and it was l)e>t
to be inside, because armored cars with " Death to the rich " — that is,
death to the '' boorzhooie " — would go around town and stop at a
street corner and send a spurt of machine-gun fire up and down the
side street and then go on to the next corner and do the same thing.
The_y had a few mortars and cannon, and with them a few buildings
Avere destroyed. In the home of one wealthy man whom I had known
very casually they dropped a shell right in the middle of his dining-
room table.
Senator Nelson. When they were firing in the streets in that way,
at the crossroads, were there people on the streets ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; I saw a number of them killed.
Senator Nelson. So that they did not take any pains to avoid
killing people '(
Mr. Dennis. I saw a nmnber of )nen killed by the machine guns.
On the fourth day the_y started something which I think was rather
typical. They said that there were people in the buildings firing at
these red soldiers out of the windows, and then it tui'iied loose, and
everywhere it was " pop, pop, pop." I was on the fourth floor of a
building, where the angle was rather high, and they could only
shoot through the upper sash, but you could see those soldiers down
in the street taking a pot shot at anyone in the windows of the build-
ings. I saw two soldiers cash in because while they were in the
street, shooting, along came one of these machine guns and stopped
at the corner of the street and turned loose.
Senator Nelson. And killed them, too'^
Mr. Dennis. Two of the soldiers of the Eed Guard got it, them-
selves. Everj^ day and every moment, you never knew ; it would be
" bang, bang " on the door, and in would come four or five soldiers
who would search the place, looking primariljr for guns, revolvers,
etc. We had five Englishmen and Americans and four Englishwomen
there, and we had a sign on the outside of the door, '" Under the pro-
tection of the British Government " ; but much good it did ! They
searched us four times that night up to 12 o'clock. They accused
us of shooting out of the windows. Two boys came in, about IG
years old, and they placed revolvers under our noses and asked for
immediate results.
Senator Nelson. Have you any idea how many people they killed
there at that time?
Mr. Dennis. No, sir; I have not. I do not think anybody knew.
There had been a number of young boys — what we would call high-
school boys — there, who had joined this volunteer army, and some of
them foolishly, instead of getting out of town, went home, thinking
they could hide out, and a number of them were caught and killed.
Senator Nelson. Which volunteer army ?
66 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
^ilr. Dennis. Koriiiloff's.
Senator Nelson. He was one of the old Russian generals?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir. You heard his name first in connection with
Kerensky, in that affair at Petrograd.
Maj. HrjiES. When you saj^ this Red Guard was commanded by
German officers, do you mean by that only the higher ranking
officers, or were the officers generally German?
Mr. Dennis. German officers did not appear before the public.
All the men who appeared before the public in Rostov were Rus-
sians of one kind or another. One or two were Letts. The head
man was a Lett. The Letts have been in the Russian armies in
numbers. But in the hotel in which I lived there were 13 German
officers. The son of the proprietor, whom I had gotten to know
very well because he had lived in America for a number of years,
told me that there were six of those men who could not talk
Russian. I used to hear their stein songs, and there was around
there a very pleasant German atmosphere. The soldiers knew they
were German officers. The beggars in the street spoke German.
They spoke to me in German. I had on a semimilitary uniform, and
they took me for a German, and spoke to me in German — the first
and only time it happened to me.
Senator Wolcott. You say they would instigate stories that the
civilians had fired from the windows on them?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator 0\'eeman. That was a purely fictitious story?
Mr. Dennis. I do not know, but I had the feeling" that that was
told to turn loose this terrorism, because the Red soldiers believed
it. Many of them went mad.
Senator Nelson. What were these soldiers composed of, Letts and
Russians ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; all kinds.
Senator Nelson. All kinds ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Overman. It was a conglomeration of every discontented
sort of man in Russia?
Mr. Dennis. It was very interesting in Rostov. I have a feeling
that in Russia this propaganda to take the industries and the land
met with the approval of the poor people who were in bad shape
due to the economic conditions of Russia. That was at the begin-
ning. But within two weeks public sentiment in Rostov had quite
changed. With the coming of the Red Guard the wealthy people
left their homes in large numbers, put on their oldest clothes and
sought refuge with people of less importance and with less pretentious
homes. I knew a number who did that, and very wisely, I think.
Within two weeks the feelings of the proletariat had changed, be-
cause they had been promised cheap bread, but the price of bread
went up, and discontent and talk began to grow. That discontent
has grown constantly all over Russia since that.
Senator Nelson. You were in Rostov in November, 1917 ?
Mr. Dennis. I stayed there until February.
Senator Nelson. Did conditions change while you were there?
Mr. Dennis. No. After I left there. I have only the letters which
I received from people living in the city, describing the situation,
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGAISTDA. V^ . 167
and that is my only evidence as to what has happened in Eostov since
I left there. These letters state that some 600 sailors took the town
and looted it for a week, held it for a week, and finally the Bol-
sheviks overthrew them, and then the Germans took control of the
town. I left there a month or two before the Germans took control
of the town.
Senator Nelson. Are they in control now ?
Mr. Dennis. When I left Eussia they were in control. What they
have done since the armistice I do not know.
While this could hot happen every day, it was rather typical of
conditions in Eussia. I left Eostov with two other Americans on
the private car of a man who was an adjutant of some kind for
Antonoff, who was one of the big men in the Government.
Senator Overman. You mean one of the big men in the Bolshevik
government ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes. This young fellow — it was like being with
Capt. Kidd, except that you worked on land instead of sea — this
fellow had an engine and a private car at his disposal, which took
him wherever he wanted to go. He was going back from Eostov to
Kharkov. We were glad to go with him. Trains were not running,
and the conditions were terrible. For three days we went down
every day and sat on the platform of his car waiting for him to'
come down, because he said that he was going, and then we went
back home every evening. On the last day we went to the sta-
tion and were waiting for him. The station at Eostov, like all
stations in Eussia, was jammed with hundreds and thousands of
people. That station platform must be at least 1,500 feet long.
When this fellow came down to his car he made his driver drive down
the entire length of that platform, right through the crowd, a thing
that would not have happened even in the days of the old regime
except with some drunken individual. Then he got out and went
and got on his car. He was showing off his authority. He wore two
guns, a sword, and a dirk, and was dressed in an aviator's leather
uniform. That seemed to be very popular with those fellows. It
made them more smart than anything else they could wear.
This" chap had with him a woman and two children, and they had
in that car all kinds of loot. They had gone through the stores of
Eostov and taken what they wanted — requisitioned it. He showed
it to us with considerable pride, and the 270,000 rubles that he had.
Instead of getting to Kharkov in 15 hours, we were five days with
this gentleman on his car. Finally we went through a little town in
the Ukraine where he lived, and he took the loot off this car and took
it home and cached it in his cellar. He stayed a day there, and they
had a great celebration. We did not celebrate much.
At the end of five days we arrived in Kharkov. On the second day
after we arrived there I saw this same chap with his woman and
three cabs loaded to the guards with stuff that he had taken out of
the stores of Kharkov. He waved his hand to us gaily, and went
down to his car. We bade him farewell, and we were through.
Senator Overman. What was he in the government?
Mr. Dennis. He was some sort of an adjutant for Antonoff, ac-
cording to his story.
Senator Nelson. What was Antonoff's position?
168 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Denxis. He is one of the big men. I can not remember his
portfolio. Perhaps one of tliese other gentlemen here can tell you.
A Bystaxdeb. .He \Yas military commander. Antonoff conmianded
the army which fought in Rosto^•. Ho is a ci\'ilian, but he was in
command of the army.
Senator Xelson. Did they destroj' much property in Rostov \
Mr. Dexxis. Not while I was there. Not a great many shells fell
in the town. There was no such destruction as there was in Moscow,
for the reason that the Red Guard made its defense outside of the
city, and the shooting in the city was mostly done by machine guns
and rifles, which do nothing more than break windows.
Senator Nelsox. In what direction did Korniloff retreat?
ilr. Dexxis. South, into the Caucasus; and later, up with the
Kuban Cossacks, according to report.
Senator Nelsox. Down on the lower Volga?
!Mr. Dexxis. No; it is considerably west of the Volga.
Senator Overman. Who were in command of these people; were
they German officers?
Mr. Dexxis. They conmianded the military end of it. They did
not appear before the public.
Senator Overman. Were these Red Guards drilled? Had they
been soldiers ?
Mr. Dexnis. They all had been soldiers; wore soldiers' uniforms.
I I'emembei' I was going home one day, and I saw a boy not older
than 14 or 15, a little shrimp of a lad, hammering on the front door
of a wealthy man's house there, and threatening to shoot everybody
in the house unless they opened on the instant. That was rather
typical of the attitude to the bourgeois. But this was done for in-
timidation. They levied a tax of 12,000,000 rubles upon Rostov.
The first thing they did was to levy a tax of 1:2,000,000 rubles on the
city. That was later added to by 10,000,000 rubles more.
Senator Nelsox. Was that paid?
Mr. Dennis. I think it was. I knew the managers of a large
cigarette factory there, and they paid something over 900,000 rubles
in cash. They doubled the price of cigarettes every time they were
taxed.
Senator Wolcott. Do you knoAv where that tax money went?
Mr. Dennis. No, sir; I doubt if anybodj' does. There were two
wealthy men in the town who Avere taxed for 1,000,000 rubles apiece.
Senator Nelson. Did you go to other storm centers there?
Mr. Dexnis. That was the only real fighting on any scale that I
saw in Russia. I went back to Kharkov, and then to ^loscow and
Petrograd. Next to Petrograd and Moscow, I presume that Kharkov
is one of the largest manufacturing cities of Russia.
Senator Nelson. Were you at Moscow when they had the revolu-
tion ?
Mr. Dexxis. I just missed that. The buildings were still burning
when I got there, in a few cases.
Senator Wolcott. Have j^ou any knowledge of atrocities com-
mitted by the officials of the Bolshevik regime, "who were acting in
what I might call a civil capacity rather than in any military en-
gagement, for the purpose of terrorizing and intimidating the popu-
lation ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 169
Mr. Deniviis. At Xovo Tcherkawk, in that city, a .small Kusriian
toAYii, Kaledines liad his headquarters. That is' a really important
part of the Don Cossack iiegion. When they knew that they were
going to give up the city of Rostov, the volmiteer army got together
a hospital train and took some 300 officers, went into the hospitals
and rushed these wounded men into this hospital train, and ran them
to Novo Tcherkask. They got them out of Rostov just about two
days before the town fell. They thought at that time that Novo
Tcherkask would not be taken. It was then, and the officers who
were so badly wounded that they could not be removed from Novo
Tcherkask — they could not get out by the railroad because the rail-
roads were cut off, and any men who were so badly wounded that
they could not be gotten out any other way and who remained there
in the hospitals and private homes — those officers were all killed,
and their bodies were left in the streets of Novo Tcherkask for four
days before anj^one dared to touch them.
Senator Oveeman. That is horrible. How many were there?
Mr. Dennis. Between 140 and 150. That was a matter engendered
by the hatred between soldiers and officers.
Senator Overman. Were they Cossack officers?
Mr. Dennis. No; only a few of the men who joined "Korniloff's
arn(iy were Cossacks ; a very few.
Senator Nelson. Did the Cossacks, as a rule, join the Red Army?
Mr. Dennis. I heard of Cossacks who had been at the front who
went Bolshevik. At Christmas time they sent them all home for
Christmas vacation, hoping that the old people could straighten them
out, because they were against the movement.
Senator Nelson. The old Cossacks were opposed to the Bolshe-
viki?
Mr. Dennis. Yes. They owned land and had no desire to give it
up. The peasants who owned land in Russia were I do not know
what percentage, but a small percentage, of the peasants of Russia ;
and, of course, the Cossacks who owned their land were against this.
movement, naturally.
Senator Nelson. All settled Cossacks owned their land?
Mr. Dennis. Yes: by the Government grant.
Senator Nelson. The hetman of the Cossacks did not join the Red
Guard? ^
Mr. Dennis. No, sir. I do not know this as Pdo about Kaledines,
but the man who took his place as hetman was later killed. The
story runs that he attempted to escape and was shot. We question
it very much ; but I do not know the facts.
Senator Overman. Did they attempt to divide the land up
amongst the people while you Avere there ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; that was done in many cases.
Senator Overman. And they took the land away from the land-
owners ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. How did they divide it; do you know?
Mr. Dennis. Well, there Avas no special way of doing this thing.
It varied, I think, with every community or every village. Ninety
per cent of these peasants, I should say — although the figures vai-y —
do not own their own land, but they own it as a community, and in
170 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
many cases it got to be a quarrel between one village and the next
adjacent as to which one was to get this estate which lay in between.
Senator Nelson. They are all settled in villages, are they not?
Mr. Dexnis. They live under an old " Bible-time " communist
system.
Senator Nelson. They are settled in villages and communes, and
the land is owned by the village or commune ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. They call them niirs, do they not ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. The mirs own the lands and they simply appor-
tion them out to the peasants: each man has his particular parcel
to cultivate?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; the lands are allotted.
Senator Overman. Are they allotted to the individuals or allotted
to the county or town?
]Mr. Dennis. You are talking about the old allotments?
Senator Overjian. I am talking about the old allotments.
Mr. Dennis. Yes; that is right; to the individual. Now, the ques-
tion arose in many cases as to which village was to get this interven-
ing land. While these people generally get along in peace, oftentimes
there is a good deal of jealousy between two villages. Here is one
of 15,000 people and here is one of .5,000, and the question arises as
to who shall get this land in between, and in that event the village
of 15,000 is likely to get it.
Senator Nelson. Did the Bolsheviki attempt to disturb the old
system of mir allotments? Did they attempt to break up the sys-
tem of allotments that prevailed there wheie the mirs owned the
land?
Mr. Dennis. I believe not, though it may be; but in any investiga-
tion of that kind, because the condition of things was so kaleidoscopic,
almost anything you want to state about it is true, whether it is
typical or not.
Senator Nelson. I suppose the operations under the Bolsheviki
were confined to the confiscation of land from the big landowners ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; but they also started that same class hatred
between the peasants who lived upon their own land and those who
lived under the comi]|une system. A number of years ago they en-
deavored to get the peasants to live upon their own lands, because
this system they have is like the case of a one-year tenacy in this
country, where nothing is put back on the land; and in the Volga
Valley, which is the richest in the world, the land had been fatmed
for thousands of years, with nothing being put back on the land.
Lenine started a class war between those who owned their lands that
way and those living in the communes.
Senator Nelson. Is this town where you saw this big riot that
you have described in what they call the black belt of Eussia ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. A rich agricultural prairie country?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. The term " steppe " there is about the same as
" prairie " here ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir; prairie.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 171
Senator Overman. What did thej do with the big merchants and
stores ?
Mr. Dennis. They had on paper a plan for the taking over of
this land and the taking over of industry, and how it should be
organized and run, but that is not so simple when you turn loose
100,000,000 people with hate in their hearts. It did not go according
to the plan. They took over a lot of factories, and in most cases a
lot of different things happened. Every group, every community,
was a law unto itself.
Senator Overman. Did they loot the stores?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; but it is not called looting. It is called requi-
sitioning.
Senator Overman. The soldiers had the right to requisition what
they wanted?
Mr. Dennis. They did, seemingly. In Nijni Novgorod the Gov-
ernment officials took over all the shoe stores and clothing stores and
hardware stores.
Senator Nelson. Were you at Nijni Novgorod?
Mr. Dennis. I lived there three months. These officials took over
all those shops without compensation.
Senator Nelson. That is a big city of 600,000 people?
Mr. Dennis. I doubt if it is that large. It is a city of some size;
between 250,000 and 350,000. No one ever knows in Eussia.
Senator Nelson. That is where they hold that great fair?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Do they hold it yet?
Mr. Dennis. According to the soviet newspapers of Eussia, they
had a magnificent fair there last summer. There was no more fair
there than there is on this table.
Senator Nelson. Which side of the Volga is it on ?
Mr. Dennis. On the low side. The town is divided into the high
town and the low town, on the east side which lies right along the
river. The soviet newspapers, however, had out reports that this
fair was running very successfully.
Senator Nelson. Had the Bolsheviki or Eeds gotten control of the
town when you were there?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. They were in possession?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. Did the government undertake to run them,
when they took over these stores ?
Mr. Dennis. They took over these supplies and then peddled them
out. You had to go to a certain commissar and get a permit to buy a
certain pair of shoes, and then go and stand in line. I was told there
were not more than 2,000 pairs of shoes in the city.
Senator Nelson. These men who finally got the shoes, did they
have to pay for them?
Mr. Dennis. They bought them from the government.
Senator Nelson. The government confiscated them and then sold
them ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. That is a way, in addition to taxation, in which
the government gets money ?
172 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Dennis. It helps. There was no thought of compensation.
Of course, it was specifically understood, when they took vjver all
of the land, that there was to be no compensation.
Senator Xelson. How did they operate when the Soviets took over
the manufacturing industries*
Mr. Dennis. They just took them, with or without the consent of
the OAvners. The owners did various things. I question if you covdd
iind any specific case that w'as typical of all the owners here and
there.
Senator Nelson. They took possession, but when they took posses-
sion did they undertake to operate ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. In what manner?
Mr. Dennis. Under a committee of workmen, and under the eco-
nomic committee, which, besides w'orkmen, may be made up of college
professors, or whoever happens to be in it. But I fail to understand,
and it is quite beyond my comprehension, how the other men who
have returned from Russia state that the industry' of Russia is run-
ning, because it is not. My basis for the statement lies in the fact
that I saw factories in three cities closed. In Nijni Novgorod, a
large manufacturing town, when I left there there was only one small
factory running.
Senator Nelson. At what place?
Mr. Dennis. Nijni Novgorod — one small factory.
Senator Nelson. That is a town of half a million people?
Mr. Dennis. Three hundred thousand, I think, would be nearer
the facts. They had a factory there that had run at its height with
25,000 men. When I first came there they Avere running with from
12,000 to 14,000. Statistics are hard to get in Russia. Nobody knows
anything accurately. The factory was closed. That factory, to my
mind, is a good example of the Bolshevik methods in Russia.
Senator Overman. What was that factory manufacturing?
Mr. Dennis. They had manufactured locomotives, and they changed
it to munitions and back to locomotives. The week I got there they
demanded of their soviet a new- election, as you are supposed to do
under the constitution. As I understand it, any time that you are
dissatisfied with your representative of the soviet, you can call a
m-eeting and elect a new representatiA'e. They demanded that elec-
tion. They could not get it, so they went on a strike for a week, and
finally got it, and they elected 67 per cent of the new representatives
from anti-Bolshevik parties. But that is not according to the way
they play the game in Russia, so that election was declared null and
void, and the old representatives of the Bolsheviki held over.
Across Volga River there is a pontoon bridge which they use in
summer time and take up in winter, as they use the ice in winter.
That bridge was not laicl for a month and a half later than usual
because they Avere afraid the Avorkmen in this factory would come
across the river and take the town. I have tried to go to that town
and have run into a line of Red Guards hiding around in the grass
Avith machine guns, who had this town surrounded, Avatching it,
because they were afraid these Avorkmen were coming over.
Senator 'Wolcott. I gather that the Avorkmen in this town you
speak of had become disgusted with the Bolshevik croAvd?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 173
Mr. Dexxis. I should say that is exactly the state of mind of a
large majority of the workmen and the peasants at the present time in
Hussia.
Senator Nelsox. Did there seem to be any head or system to their
city government there ?
^Ir. Dexxis. So far as I could get information on such things, in
talking with other men from other cities, I think they had about
as efficient a local soviet in Nijni Novgorod as any place. They had
three men who did some things with executive ability. Two of' these
men were men of some education. One of them had been to a Rus-
sian university. But in the last month I was there they fired the two
top men in the soviet. One of them, who was what they call the state
commissar, said that they fired those two men and put in men who
were of more radical beliefs, who were of a more radical state of
mind, because those men were too conser^ iitive; and that tendency, I
think, can be found all over Eussia.
Senator Overmax'. You say that three-fourths are against the
Bolsheviki. Why do they not rise up and overthrow the Bolshevik
government ?
Mr. Dex^xis. One answer is to shrug your shoulders and say " That
is Russia ; that is the Russian character." The Russians, Avhile they
know how to cooperate in business and in cooperative societies (and
they did organize long before the war and during the war in a busi-
ness way), when it comes to politics are absolutely hopeless. They
do not know the meaning of the word "' compromise."' If 3'ou were
to gather around this table representatives of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, of the Presbyterian Church, of the Catholic Church,
and of the Jewish Church, and of all the other sects that we have
in this country, and ask them to form one church, you would have
the same situation you would have in Russia if you were to ask
these political parties to get together.
Senator Nelsox. The peasants — ^that is, the real Russian peasants —
belong to the Greek Church, do they not?
Mr. Dennis. They do not call it the Greek Church, but the Rus-
sian Church.
Senator Nelsox^. I mean the Russian Church.
Mr. Dexx^is. Yes, sir.
Senator Overmax. Do you suppose that some great patriotic leader
like Nicholas, or a great general in the army, could organize these
people into an army ?
Mr. Dexnis. I very much have my doubts. I like the Russian
people very much — the ones that I have come in contact with I like
personally very much — but if you try to do anything with them, to
organize "them, you can not do it, because they will not get together.
There is a saying in Russia which very plainly describes the Russian
characteristics, and which is true, that any time you get three Rus-
sians together you have five opinions, and I think that any man who
has tried to do things with them will agree to that statement.
Senator Wolcott. Then the fact that the Bolsheviki vigorously
pursued their terrorism served to restrain at least 75 per cent of the
people from asserting their wish in overthrowing the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Dex^xis. They" very thoroughly Jntimidatecl them by standing
them up against a wall and shooting them, and by imprisonment, and
174 BOLSHEVIK
jmurAUAJN JJA.
by a general lack of safety, and the requisitioning and taking over
of houses and all that sort of thing. They had them very thoroughly
intimidated. The Eussian peasant has fought again and again and
is fighting against the Red Guard. Why ? On account of fixed prices
for food and fixed prices on grain, at which he must sell, and because
on the things that he needs to buy, which, as a general rule, he can
not get because there is A-ery little of them, there are no fixed prices.
The sky is the limit. I have seen at the bazaar in the city of Nijni
Xovgorod the Eed Guard go down there and just take the food away
from the peasants at the fixed price, which is far below the market
price. They feel about this the same as the American farmer would
if you put a price of '2-2 cents on his wheat to-morrow, instead of $2 —
or whatever it is. Wlaen the soldiers came out to take the food there
were many fights, because the peasant had been told to take his gun
home, and he did, and in some cases he took a machine gun, and he
had been told to use it, and had been told he was a free man ; and the
peasants fought, and the Eed Guards many times got the worst of it.
Of course, while it is not written in Eussia, and I do not know that
they Avould agree with this at all, it would seem that there is only one
rule under which the Bolsheviki work in Eussia, and that is that the
end justifies the means.
Senator Overjian. The whole population is a mob? It is just
anarchy ?
Mr. Dennis. Of course, if you are not a Bolshevik, " Get out. We
will not feed you. And if you work against us, we will kill you." I
can not imagine that it was any more dangerous under Ivan the Ter-
rible for a man to speak openly against the government than it is
at the present time.
Senator Nelson. Can you give us, in brief, an outline of their
scheme of government, of the national Bolshevik government; what
their plan is?
Mr. Dennis. The leaders of this government were advanced social-
ists of the radical type and believed in going the full length of social-
ism, and going it by the most radical methods, by force. Other
precepts they have; that there is no such thing as private capital, or
private property, and that everything must belong to the state, all
land and all sources of production ; and they have had it specifically
nominated in the bond that there shall be no discussion as to how it
shall be done. They take these things by force, without compensation
for them.
Senator Nelson. Then do they follow it up and sav' how the state
is to utilize this property ?
Mr. Dennis. I think that on paper they had a pretty good scheme,
from their viewpoint; but it is not the easiest thing in the world to
organize, with a vast country and a terribly disorganized people who
are amazingly unintelligent, so far as reading and writing are con-
cerned. They cut themselves out a big piece of work, and they started
something they could not control. When they got ready to give a
man orders, they found they could not give him orders.
Senator Nelson. Take, for instance, the matter of land. Their
scheme was that all of the land belonged to the state, was it not, and
the use of it shonld be distributed among the peasants?
Mr. Dennis. Yes. sir.
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 175
Senator Nelson. And when you come to the manufactuiing indus-
tries, their scheme was to take possession of them and have them
operated by the government ?
Mr. Deistnis. They belonged to the people, through the government.
They say everything belongs to the people, because that is a more
popular way of putting it.
Senator Nelson. What about the banks?
Mr. Dennis. Ditto.
Senator Nelson. They were to be taken over by the
Mr. Dennis. They were taken over.
Senator Nelson. Were they to be run by the Bolshevik men ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir; for the people. Private property goes out
of the thing.
Senator Nelson. There is no longer any private property ?
Mr. Dennis. From which you receive an income — no. I had a very
interesting conversation with the bank commissar in Nijni Novgo-
rod. I think I could bust any good bank there is in this city in about
a week, if they would let me run it. I do not know anything about a
bank. This chap had very interesting ideas about it. Inasmuch as
we know that money is the root of all evil, this chap's idea, as he ex-
pressed it to nie, was to get rid of money. He said, " I hope to see
the day when a chicken will cost 5,000 rubles, and that will mean
that money will have no value, and we will get rid of it. We will not
need any money."
Senator Nelson. He would go bacli to the system of barter and ex-
change that prevailed before we got any money ?
Mr. Dennis. I do not think he thought much beyond the point of
getting rid of money ; it is the root of all evil, tear it up, and that
kind of idea. That was from a man who had charge of all the banks
in his district.
Senator Nelson. The money they have in circulation now is all
paper money, is it not?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Irredeemable paper money, which they are print-
ing and issuing almost without limit?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. What have they done with the gold that was in
the banks?
Mr. Dennis. There were several gold centers. At Nijni Novgorod
they had a lot of gold. I at one time knew the amount of gold in
Nijni Novgorod.
Senator Nelson. Did they not, as a consequence of the treaty of
Brest-Litovsk, take over about $200,000,000 of gold of the towns?
Mr. Dennis. I do not know. There was some talk about it, but I
do not know the facts. I know they brought to Nijni Novgorod from
Eiga a large amount of gold, stocks, bonds, and collateral of all
kinds, brouo'ht with the German bankers who had -run those banks.
Those Germans I knew personally in Nijni Novgorod, and they were
sitting around hoping and praying they could get their hands on this
Senator Overman. When you got your check from the United
States for your salary, how did you get the money on it?
Mr. Dennis. I always got the money directly. But it was possible
to go out and sell it, jjecause many wealthy people who had money
176 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
hidden, who s;nv this thing coming and got tlieir money out of
the banks in cash, were getting nervous because all the time they
were having searches and it was possible that this money would be
discovered and be confiscated, and they were very glad to exchange
money for a draft on America, because it was easier to hide it.
Senator Wolcott. This gentleman who had these interesting finan-
cial views you speak of, the commisar of the banks, I am curious to
know whether he was in a position of large responsibility. How
much territory did he have under his jurisdiction where he was going
to put into effect these ideas?
Mr. Dennis. He was running the banks of Xijni Novgorod.
Senator Woixott. That is how large a place?
j\Ir. Dennis. Three hundred thousand, with a lot of big banks
there, with big supplies of money.
Senator Wolcott. Did he stay in that office as long as you were in
the countrv?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Xelson. Were you in southern Russia, on the border of
the Black Sea. at Odessa, and in the Crimea?
Mr. Di:x>"is. Xo. sir.
Senator Xeeshn. Were you on the Siberian Eailroad?
INlr. Dennis. Yes; Ave went across by the trans-Siberian, going in
1)y Vladivostok to Moscow.
Senator Xelson. What time did vou go in?
^fr. Den>is. The 1st of Xoveniber. 1917.
Senator Xelson. I understand, now, and I want to know if it is
not your information, that what I call the anti-Red Guard, the anti-
Bolsheviki, control the railroads as far west as Omsk, and perhaps
as far west as Perm ; is not that correct?
]\Ir. Dennis. I have only newspaper reports on that.
Senator Xelson. Is not that your understanding, too?
^Ir. Dennis. Yes; from what I read.
Senator Xelson. Do they not control that whole line from ^"ladi-
vostok out as far as Perm, which is the largest town west of the
Ural Mountains?
Mr. Dennis. That might be true to-day, and to-morrow be not
true, because my experience with the railroads in Russia was that you
ne^er Imew. You got on a train, and perhaps you got there and per-
haps you did not.
Senator Overman. You did not know Lenine and Ti'otsky?
]\Ir. Dennis. Personally, no, sir.
Senator Over .man. Were they men of ability, brains, and educa-
tion, by reputation?
yir. Dennis. Yes. sir: I should say thev were very able men and
thoroughly believed that this was the way to bring about heaven on
earth, and to end the ills of society.
Senator Wolcott. Their route to heaven, though, seems to have
been first through hell?
Mr. Dennis. The route was circuitous. However, as you know
from reading the Liberator, the American magazine, Mr. Lenine
answers any criticism which I might make, or any other man tcstifv-
iu£r here, and say.: "Of course this happened and that happened;
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 177
of course it did. We have made mistakes, but what can you expect ?
Look where we are going and what we are aiming at — what we want
to do ! He meets almost all those criticisms in that article in the
Liberator.
Senator Nelson. Their aim, theoretically at least, is a pure
socialistic government, is it not?
Mr. Denxis. With one class only.
Senator Nelson. With one class only, and that is what they call the
proletariat ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. That includes the peasants and the working men,
I suppose?
Mr. Dennis. In Russia they would say it was rather simpler than
in any other country because "they have more of the proletariat. The
proletariat are the larger per cent of the people, and the so-called
upper classes are a smaller per cent, and the scheme was to have
only one class when they got through.
Senator Nelson. They did not make any provision for what we
call in this country the large body of consumers, did they? They
did not have any idea on that, did they ?
^Ir. Dennis. They look upon everybody as a producer' and con-
sumer and, according to the plan, everybody has plenty. There is
no difference in class, no difference in caste.
Senator Overman . Is any attempt made toward education ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; they have very fine plans on paper.
Senator Nelson. Was not the country invaded a good deal by
German business men?
Mr. Dennis. German business men and commissions were in
Nijni Novgorod. I hardly ever went out of the house except some-
body, paid by a German, followed me around.
Senator Nelson. And the Germans seemed to have the upper hand
among the Reds?
Mr. Dennis. Very much so.
Senator Nelson. In other words, there is an affiliation and com-
bination between the Bolsheviki, the Red people, and the German
people who were there in Russia ?
Mr. Dennis. An affiliation to this extent. This is purely my per-
sonal opinion, as is all of it, from my observation. There was an
affiliation to this extent, that each group was trying to use the other
group. It was not that they had any great sympathy with Germany
at all, but if they could use Germany, well and good ; and Germany
was trying to use them.
Senator Nelson. But, I mean there were a good many German
missions there, business men and spies and others that were con-
stantly operating there?
Mr." Dennis. Yes, sir. I was very well aware of it in Nijni
Novgorod. They had large commissions there, and ostensibly these
men were looking after the welfare of the Central Eiripire prisoners.
That is why they were there, on the surface. They were there when
I left.
Senator Nelson. Carrying on the business of propaganda in
Russia ?
85723—19 12
178 BOLSHE\aK PROPAGANDA.
ilr. Dennis. They were. I knew of two cases where they had
bought stock, and they carried the gamble through to the last minute,
buying stock in industries, and buying estates.
Senator Nelson. You seem to be well posted. If there is any-
thing else you have not told us about this matter that you think
we ought to know, or the American people ought to know, I wish
you would tell us.
Mr. Dennis. I do not know whether this belongs in this hearing
or not, but a thing that interested me very much was to discover
a number of men in positions of power, commissars in the cities
here and there in Russia, who had lived in America.
Senator Nelson. Who had been graduated here?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Where had they lived mostly, in New York?
Mr. Dennis. In the industrial centers. I met a number of them,
and I sat around and listened to attacks upon America that I would
not take from any man in this country ; but I took it over there be-
cause I was asking favors, and I was not in a position to get into an
altercation, as I did not want to get in jail.
Senator Nelson. Were the men who had lived for years in this
country, and had gone back there, occupying prominent positions in
this Bolshevik government?
^Ir. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Wolcx)tt. In the main, of what nationality were they ?
Mr. Dennis. Hebrew.
Senator Wolcott. German Hebrews?
Mr. Dennis. Russian Hebrews. The men that I met there had
lived in America, according to their stories, anywhere from 3 to 12
years.
Senator Nelson. You know, years ago they colonized a lot of Ger-
mans over there in southern Russia. We call them Mennonites.
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; we call them that in this country.
Senator Nelson. Do you know what their attitude was?
Mr. Dennis. I do not know what their prejudice was, but I judge
that they had a prejudice, from the information I got that they at
the end were pretty badly treated by the Russian Government. They
were deported and sent into Siberia.
Senator Nelson. They were settled there originally because they
did not believe in war. They were permitted to emigrate to Russia,
and were given land, and given immunitj' from military service; but
that militaiy immunity was afterwards revoked. Now, were they
with the Bolsheviki, or were they with the other side ?
Mr. Dennis. I could not answer that question. I could only say
that these men in the last year of the war, and some of them before,
in large numbers, were dispossessed and sent into Siberia and put
in the internment camps, because of supposedly pro-German senti-
ment.
Senator Nelson. They occupied that territory around the lower
Don, did they not?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; there were numbers of them there, and then they
were pretty well scattered.
Spncitnr Nei^on. In the black belt, on the verge of the arid countrv.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 179
Senator Overman. Are these people over there, who have lived in
the United States, taking part in this Bolshevik movement?
Mr. Dennis. This is a thing that, in my opinion, backed up by
the opinions of other Americans, Englishmen, and Frenchmen with
whom I talked when we got into Moscow, and were waiting there
three weeks before we got out, and comparing notes, seems more in-
teresting than the fact that they are there in positions of power, that
these men were the most bitter and implacable men in Russia on the
progi'am of the extermination, if necessary, of the bourgeois class.
Senator Nelson. They constitute the Red element, do they not?
Mr. Dennis. In many cases.
Senator Nelson. In most cases?
Mr. Dennis. In many cases. I would not say in most, but in many.
Senator Nelson. Trotsky himself came from this country, did he
not?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; he had lived in this country.
Senator Overman. You say they are in favor of the extermination
of the bourgeois ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir. I never met a more implacable individual
than a man that they called the war commissar in Nijni Novgorod.
He had been in this country for a number of years.
Senator Nelson. They were Hebrews that had been in this coun-
try?
Mr. Dennis. These men are ; yes, sir.
Senator Overman. Do you know of any effort they are making to
carry that propaganda to this country?
Mr. Dennis. I can not go into court and prove it, but I have
some very definite suspicions, and some facts which would indicate
considerable; yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Give us what you have.
Mr. Dennis. I believe the information on that score that I have is
already in the hands of the Government, through other sources;
but, going to their meetings as I have done in the city of Chicago,
there is no question at all about their approval of the Russian
system and of their desire to bring it to pass in this country.
Senator Nelson. Are there many of that class of people in Chi-
cago?
Mr. Dennis. The first meeting I went to was in the Chicago Coli-
seum, which was packed. Indeed, they had overflow meetings, and
all the speakers had to go out and double up.
Senator Nelson. And that was a socialist meeting?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir. _
Senator Nelson. Publishing Russian propaganda?
Mr. Dennis. A red-flag meeting.
Senator Overman. Is there any affiliation between them and the
I. W. W. of this country ?
Mr. Dennis. As to any affiliation in fact or in organization I do>
not know ; but they are absolutely affiliated, I should say, inasmuch as
they are both going to the same place.
Senator Overman. As they both tend to the same thing?
Mr. Dennis. They both want the same thing.
Senator Nelson. All aiming for the same end ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
180 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Nelson. By the same methods?
Mr. Dennis. I see no difference between them at all; but as to
whether they have any affiliation in organization I do not know.
That is bound to come, I think. If the movement goes on they will
get together, of course.
Senator A'elson. Are they circulating much Bolshevik literature
out in Chicago?
Mr. Dennis. Have you seen copies of the American Bolshevik,
published in Minneapolis?
Senator Nelson. Yes; and I had something from that printed in
the Congressional Record.
]\Ir. Dennis. That is a fair example of it. I have here some of the
handbills they were distributing, which call for immediate action.
Senator O^terman. Did you see that great handbill that they
were sending all over the country and posting up, " The War is over,
now for revolution " ?
Mr. Dennis. I have not seen that; no, sir. But nothing of that
kind would surprise me, after what I have learned in Chicago.
Senator Wolcott. What is the seating capacity of the Coliseum?
Mr. Dennis. I do not know. Several times I asked what it was,
but I could not get definite figures on it. I think it runs from six to
ten thousand.
Senator Wolcott. At this large meeting which you attended, at
which they had to have overflow meetings, did the meeting seem to
be in sympathy Avitli the ideas expressed, or was it made up largely
of people who were there just to look on ?
Mr. Dennis. There were there a number of observers like myself,
and a good many Go^-ernment observers were there, but with the first
mention of the names of Lenine and Trotsky the crowd arose to its
feet and applauded for five minutes. Thej' had on the wall. I re-
member, a long stiip of paper containing a list of the soviet repub-
lics of the world. This list was a little premature, I think. Neverthe-
less it was there. It began with Russia, Germany, Norway, Sweden,
and went on down through the list, and at the bottom was a large
question mark, "Which is next?" And every speaker, not by actual
words, but by inference, said that America w'ould be the next one;
and everj' time that was done there was sure to be applause.
Senator Nelson. Did you observe the character of the people there,
or their nationality ''(
Mr. Dennis. It was a very well-dressed, intelligent-looking crowd;
not starving people by any means. Indeed, I have always maintained
that Bolshevism is not a cry or demand for bread; it is a state of
mind, and it must be met as such. They were a pretty well-dressed,
intelligent crowd.
Senator Nelson. I mean as to their nationality. Were they native-
born Americans, or were they foreigners?
Mr. Dennis. One could only tell by the applause when the
speeches were made in the different languages, as to the predominant
number of people there. We had speeches in Polish, Yiddish, and
German, but when the Russian delegate got up and said, "Com-
rades," which is a great word in Russia, I should say at least 70 per
cent of that audience got to their feet.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 181
Senator Wolcott. Which tongue seemed to rank next to the lius-
sian at that meeting?
Mr. Dennis. I would say Yiddish. There was an American work-
man, about 50 years old, who sat immediately to my riglit, with whom
I talked a good deal; a well-dressed, first-class looking workman. It
was really my first contact with that type of man, and I will tell you
that I would just as willingly try to dri^e a tenpenny nail into a
cement block as to try to get an idea into that man's head. I never
found any greater hatred than that man had for the capitalistic class,
as he called them.
Senator Wolcott. Then he was of American nationality '(
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. From what you have seen since you came back,
there at Chicago, j'ou would think there is propaganda going on here
in this country ?
Mr. Dennis. Very definitely.
Senator Nelson. Bolshevik propaganda ?
Mr. Dennis; Yes.
Senator Nelson. As I understood you awhile ago, you found some
of the very prominent men in the Bolshevik government over there
that were men who had lived in this country and gone back to Eussia.
Mr. Dennis. The interesting thing about it was not their promi-
nence but their bitterness.
Senator Nelson. They were most bitter?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Overman. Did you recognize any speakers of prominence
at that meeting?
Mr. Dennis. I beg pardon?
Senator Overman. Were any of these speakers men of prominence
in Chicago or in this country?
Mr. Dennis. Oh, yes; all the men who have been on trial before
Judge Landis spoke there.
Senator Nelson. Can you give the names of these speakers at
Chicago ?
Mr. Dennis. Steadman, Victor Berger, and what is the man's name
that begins with Er? He is a Norwegian. All the men who have
been on trial before Judge Landis spoke at that meeting, and a num-
ber of others.
Senator Overman. There has been more than one meeting?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; I have gone to some smaller meetings.
Senator Nelson. They have small ward meetings, do they not, in
the localities where they live ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And ha-\e local speakers there?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And they are at it continually, are they not?
Mr. Dennis. I think this can be proved. There are now some paid
traveling speakers. The organization has a paid staff.
Senator Nelson. Have you come across any of these men who
have been in Eussia and have come back here and are carrying on
propaganda here?
Mr. Dennis. No.
Senator Nelson. Are you acquainted with this Mr. Williams?
182 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Dexxis. I do not know Mr. Williams or Mr. Eeed. I have
read their stuif, and John Williams'w wife's book.
Senator Nelson. You did not come across them in Russia?
Mr. Dennis. Both of these men had left Soviet Russia before I
got in there.
Senator Nelson. Do you find many native-born Americans work-
ing in this propaganda here?
Mr. Dennis. I am not prepared to say. I do not know the men
and their history well enough to say, sir.
Senator Overman. What is the meaning of the word " soviet"?
Mr. Dennis. The nearest translation would be " committee," or
" conference.'" '' Conference," I think, would perhaps be the nearest
English equivalent.
Senator Overman. What percentage of the people of Russia are
educated I
3Ir. Dennis. The figures vary. The figures as to illiteracy run
anywhere from 70 to 85 per cent. It depends upon what man you
happen to be reading. I do not think they Imow Sinything about
accurate statistics in Russia.
Senator Over:man. Under the old regime, did they have any pub-
lic schools?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; about 5 per cent of the people, under the old
regime, were permitted a real education, according to the best au-
thority that I can get. There are some figures on that, which, so
far as I know, are accurate enough, as to education, schools, and so
forth, and how many children actually had a chance to go to school
in Russia.
Senator Nelson. But the Russian peasants, as a rule, are illiterate^
Mr. Dennis. Yes. I do not know of anybody who knows the
situation thoroughly, who talks about the situation in Russia as a
democracy. I have heaixl many people talk about it as a great de-
mocracy. To my mind that is an absolute misnomer, and is not in
accordance with the printed and spoken statements of Lenine and
others, who ought to know wliat kind of a show they are running
over there. They do not call it that. They specificallj' state that it
is not a democracy.
Senator Overman. Not a democracy?
]\Ir. Dennis. No ; and it is not supposed to be. It is an autocracy
of the proletariat.
Senator Overman. They do not want liberty?
]\Ir. Dennis. Well, they would say they did. They would not
agree with that. But they want it in a way that is peculiar, accord-
ing to our ideas in this country.
Senator Nelson. Thev have in these different mirs or villages, and
in the wards or portions of cities themselves, their local Soviets, or
local councils?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And they send representatives to the national
soviet ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. The head soviet.
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And that constitutes their government, really?
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 183
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Of course, the general soviet has to have admin-
istrative officers?
Mr. Dennis. It would be democratic if the people away back in the
villages and in the factories could elect and send up anybody they
wanted to, but the fact remains that up to date they have not been
permitted to. Thej^ have to send Bolsheviks.
Senator Nelson. Or they will not be received?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Overman. If they elect one of their own men who is an
anti-Bolshevik, what is the result? They just do not receive him?
Mr. Dennis. Well, that case I spoke of in the factory at Novgorod
would be typical. They declared the election null and void and held
over the old representatives to the soviet. In some cases they told the
people, " You must elect Bolsheviks and Bolsheviks only." Indeed,
there is going to be just one class, and one party in this class.
Senator Nelson. Of course it is only in the territory that the Bol-
sheviki control, either permanently or temporarily, that they have
succeeded in forming these local Soviets ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Nelson. In the other part of Russia that is in the control
of the white guard, or the anti-Bolsheviki, they have not adopted
that system?
Mr. Dennis. I do not know, because all the time I was there after
I got in I was in soviet Eussia, and I have no information about the
outside other than this information.
Senator Overman. That general congress or assembly representing
the government is not called the Duma now, under the new system ?
Mr. Dennis. No.
Senator Overman. What do they call it?
Mr. Dennis. It is called the central soviet.
Senator Nelson. The have abolished the legislative duma, have
they?
Mr. Dennis. It is very interesting to note that these Soviets all the
way around will not take orders from anybody unless they want to.
If it fits in with their plan, well and good. If it does not, they do not
obey. It is the same way with the committee. If they do not do the
right thing, they fire them and get another that will, and they get
quick action.
Senator Overman. Will they have a general law for the general
soviet itself?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; if it happens to tally with what they want to do.
Of course, there has been a flood of " decrets." Every man in a
town that has any power issues a decret, and sometimes they are
wise decrets and looking to the best interests of the people, but at
other times they are the most idealistic things you ever saw, and at
other times they are perfectly wild and harebrained ; but nevertheless
they are issued and plastered up on the walls of the town.
Senator Nelson. Is it not a fact that the only cohesive principle
there is in theii' government at present is the reign of terror they
carry on?
Mr. Dennis. I should say that in the beginning its power was de-
rived from machine guns.
184 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Overman. Are they manufacturing munitions?
Mr. Dennis. I know of only one plant that ran for a short time,
but they had enough out of the supplies of old Russia to keep them
going for their military operations. Of course, with this new army
which they are getting I do not know what they will do. They had
called five years to the colors when I left, and they were very much
afraid of that army. They did not know what to do with it, whether
to arm it or not to arm it. Of course, they keep the army up now,
because if a factory closes down and the workmen are thrown out oi
a job and have nothing to do, they put them in the army and pay
them a certain amount each month. It was 400 rubles when I was in
Xijni Novgorod. I think it is higher now. They supported the men
and their families. That is the kind of coercion that keeps the red
army together.
Senator Overman. Have the Bolsheviki got woman suffrage? Do
the women take part in these meetings?
Mr. Dennis. I never saw very many of them in these meetings,
but they have it on paper ; yes, sir.
Maj. Humes. The money they pay to the soldiers simply comes
from the printing press. They make money on the printing press
as they need it to pay these soldiers, do they not?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir. I had at one time the figures, put out by the
head man of the government, of the deficit on the railroad — ^the esti-
mated deficit — amounting to I forget how many hundred millions of
rubles, and the amount of tlie factory and industry deficit, and so on.
On the Volga River all the traffic had stopped and there were at
least 200 boats, some of them passenger boats, the finest I ever saw on
any river, standing idle, and the workmen with their families were
living on them and being paid by the government from time to time
as they could get the money down to them.
Senator O^'eksian. The commerce on the river then, had practi-
cally ceased?
Mr. Dennis. Virtually so. It was down at the lowest ebb, on ac-
count of the absence of coal or oil. The thing was petering out be-
cause of no fuel.
Senator Nelson. In normal times there was an immense water
commerce on the Volga?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; it is a great center, with vessels of all kinds
there. The flour mills there were closed, and all the factories were
closed except one when I left.
Senator Overman. Was there any schedule on the railroads ?
Mr. Dennis. It is an amazing thing that the railroad organization
has kept going. The railroad guild, perhaps you might call it, has
kept going against tremendous odds, and they have maintained a
passenger service. The freight service is badly disorganized.
In all Russia, in about 10 months while I was there, I never but
once in any state anywhere in Russia saw carpenters or masons
working. Never but once did I see men with hammers and nails and
feaws in their hands.
Senator Nelson. There was not any building going on?
Mr. Dennis. Absolutely nothing. The whole thing was going to
destruction. I saw a band stand being built. That was the only
thing I ever saw in process of construction in Russia.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 185'
Senator Overman. What are the houses of the peasants con-
structed of?
Mr. Dennis. Logs, where they can get them. They are fine log
houses.
Senator IS'elson. With thatched roofs?
Mr. Dennis. Sometimes ; but log houses, well built.
Senator Wolcott. Were the schools in operation?
Mr. Dennis. Not during the summer, and there was much dis-
cussion in Nijni Novgorod as to whether they would open this fall
or not, on account of financial difficulties.
ijenator Overman. Were the farms in operation, or had many of
them left the farms?
Mr. Dennis. I read an article not long ago in some American
magazine, by an American Avhom I knew over there, in which he
said that the acreage this year was about 10 per cent. That, to my
mind, is not anywhere near the fact in the case. In the districts
which I loiew from my personal knowledge and from information
which I got in Nijni Novgorod and from information which we got
from people from the other sections who came into the consulate in
Moscow, 75 would be very much nearer the truth.
Senator Nelson. Seventy-five per cent?
Mr. Dennis. Yes. Others even put it higher than that. But in my
opinion, the crops were very good. I am not a prophet, but if they
had the brains for organization and could get their traffic organized
so that they could distribute it, I believe there ig enough stuff in
soviet Russia to feed the Russians; not well, but to keep them from
starvation.
Senator Nelson. What is their wheat? Is it spring wheat or win-
ter wheat?
■ Mr. Dennis. Both, I believe. We could go from Nidjni Novgorod
down the Volga River and up jthe Kama River to Perm, and buy
white flour pretty reasonably. A friend of mine went, and got flour
for 12 rubles a pood, or 36 English pounds.
Senator Overman. Are these peasants most hospitable in their
nature ?
Mr. Dennis. As individuals; yes, sir, they are. You could buy
flour for 10 rubles a pood, but they would not allow you to take it
out of the city, or into a different State. You could not take it
across the line. My man got back because he Avas working for an
American, and mj' English friend got back because he had a British
passport, but a man who lived within two blocks of me in Nijni
Novgorod had the flour taken away from him.
Maj. Humes. He was a Russian?
Mr. Dennis. He was a Russian. It was possible for a German to
go there and buy flour by the thousand poods and take it out
without any difficulty. He got it out of that State, but it did not
go into Germany. There was great ojDposition on the part of the
people to Germany getting stuff out of Russia, and trains of cars
had a wav of being sidetracked and turning up somewhere else.
Senator Overman. I should think that after this war and so many
people being killed, they would have a great antipathy to the Ger-
mans.
186 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
Mr. Dennis. I think the sentiment of the bourgeois class could
be summed up by what a man whom I knew pretty well said to me.
He said : " I know it is a mistake for us to want the Germans to
come in here. I know in the end we will regret it, and we would
much rather have somebody else come, but nobody else will come,
and it is ' any port in a storm.' If the Germans come, my life and my
property will be safe." I do not blame them at all for feeling that
way about it.
Senator Wolcott. Is there any breakdown of the moral standards
in this Bolshevik regime?
Mr. Dknxis. There has been a lot of talk about it, and about these
proclamations which have appeared in American newspapers, and
those proclamations in two cases I loiow of were actually put up;
but whether they were put up by the government or not is a very
large question in my mind.
Senator Wolcott. Did they purport to be official proclamations?
Mr. Dennis. They were put up in the city of Samara, signed by
the anarchists, and about two days later, as quick as they could get
out an answer to it, the anarchists came out with another proclama-
tion which they pasted up over the town, saying that the first one
had not been sent out by them, but had been sent out by the enemies
of the anarchists to discredit that group. I am inclined to believe
that story. It was about the nationalization of women.
Senator Nelson. The}^ are opposed to religion, are they not?
Mr. Dennis. The Bolsheviks?
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. And they advocate a sort of what in this country
we call " free love," do they not ?
Mr. Dennis. I have never seen any official statement of that kind.
They are opposed to religion, and were very much opposed to the
Y. M. C. A., here and there.
Senator Nelson. What was their grievance against the Y. M. C. A. ?
Mr. Dennis. A tool of capitalism.
Senator Overman. How did they feel toward the Red Cross?
Mr. Dennis. All right, so far as I know.
Senator Wolcott. Was the Salvation Army in Russia?
Mr. Dennis. I never saw it — yes, I did. I saw two of them.
Senator Wolcott. Did you ever notice any outcry against the
Salvation Army people?
Mr. Dennis. I know nothing about that. The two that I saw were
taking care of an orphan asylum where there Avere a lot of little chil-
dren. I imagine they were very glad to have them do it. The organi-
zation, or lack of organization, was so very bad in Petrograd that
during the last week in April, when they dumped into Petrograd
the first 1,500 prisoners who came back from Germany — Russians
released from the German prisons; they dumped these men into
the great station in Petrograd, all of them sick, and very few of
them able to walk, and there was no organization in that great city
to look after those men — that was the most terrible thing that I saw
in Russia.
Senator Nelson. They looked starved and emaciated?
Mr. Dennis. Terrible. You could not overpaint that picture.
BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA. 187
Senator Nelson. And were terribly broken?
Mr. Dennis. You could not overpaint the picture of those men.
The few who were able to go out came down the Nevski Prospect.
Petrograd is a pretty blase city by this time, it has been through
•a good deal, and it takes something to stir them up, but these men
in knots of two and three would stand on the street there and beg,
and they poured money into their caps — the people on the streets —
but there was no organization to take care of them at all. If there
^ver was anybody who needed a Red Cross outfit, and needed an
efficient one, with nurses, it was that crowd of 1,500 men. After
that the American Y. M. C. A. tried to do something. I think
-certain Eussian representatives wanted tlie Americans to be allowed
to endeavor to go on and accomplish something ; but what they have
clone I do not know.
Senator Oveesiax. How is the ordinary peasant as a family man?
Does he love his family and love his children ?
Mr. Dennis. So far as I know, yes, sir; and I wish to say that in
general I liked them very much. I do not know of any foreigner
who has lived in Russia for any length of time who does not love the
Russian people and their qualities. They are what we call, out in the
•country that I come from, home folks, neighborly; but, of course,
under these conditions, naturally, with a mob spirit turned loose
in a crowd, they are a very different people. I presume that is true
of any primitive people. Besides, up until August 3, when they
arrested all foreigners with the exception of Americans, up to that
time, outside of tfulking with men who had lived in America, I
never received anything but reasonably courteous treatment, and
mostly absolutely courteous treatment — warm, courteous treatment —
from any Russian to whom I said merely, " I am an American." I
did not have to tell him what my business was or anything about it.
Senatoi' Oveeman. They did not seem to have any feeling, much,
against the Americans?
Mr. Dennis. Every Russian peasant, even though he does not
know what America is or where it is, perhaps, has a warm asso-
ciation of feeling about America — that it is a free country.
Senator Wolcott. How many of these people who had come from
America and were in office under the Bolshevik government would
you estimate that you saw, speaking in proportion ?
Mr. Dennis. That I personally saw and talked with ?
Senator Wolcott. Or that you know of, either by your own
observation or from those in whom you have confidence?
Mr. Dennis. Our general opinion in Moscow was that anywhere
irom 20 to 25 per cent of the commissars in Soviet Russia had lived
in America.
Senator Wolcott. Did you form any estimate as to the number in
office in Petrograd ?
Mr. Dennis. No.
Senator Wolcott. They were not all from New York City, I take
it from what you said a while ago, but they were from different
parts of the United States— congested centers?
Mr. Dennis. Always from industrial centers.
Senator Overman. Do you know any of them that have been natu-
ralized in this country?
188 BOLSHEVIlv PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Dennis. Xo. At least, not one of them would say he had been.
I asked two, I recall, and they said they had not. One had lived here
13 years, according to his story, and tallied English very well.
Senator Xelson. Did you find them to be from Chicago, usually?
Mr. Denxis. I found them to be from industrial centers near Chi-
cago. One man when I bade liim good-by said, " Good-by. I will see
you in about 10 years. We are coming over to America to pull off
this same show." I told him I would be there.
Senator Wolcott. These men who were from America who were
in oiEce there were of what nationahty ?
Mr. Dexnis. I beg pardon^
Senator "Wolcott. Ihese men who had been in America, and were
in office over there, were of what nationality ?
'Sir. De-\nis. With ,only one exception, of my personal knowledge,
Hebrew.
Senator AVolcott. "\Miat nationality was that one exception?
Mr. Dennis. Russian.
Senator Wolcott. You said a while ago that you were convinced
in your own mind that there is organized propaganda in this country
to spread this Bolsheviki thing to America. In substantiation of
that statement you cited this Chicago meeting Avliere you lieard the
doctrine preached and well received. Have you any other substantiul
facts that point to the theory that there is an organized propaganda
here, financed here, to spread this soviet government to America ?
Mr. Dennis. Xothing that I thinlv is not already in the hands of
the Government ; nothing new.
Senator Overman. Have you made any report to tire Department
of Justice or the Secretary of State?
Mr. Dennis. When I returned to America I came here to AA'ashing-
ton and rejjortod to the consular staff.
Senator Overman. To the State Department?
Mr. Dennis. To the State Department. I was then interviewed by
a number of men in various departments, the Russian war board,
and one or two others. Maj. Miles, I believe, was one.
Senator 0^t5rman. Will j'ou send us a copy of that report?
Mr. Dennis. I made no report at that time. I have just returned
to America, and came directly here from Xew York, about Novem-
ber 1.
Senator Overman. You made no report about tliis organization
over here?
]\Ir. Dennis. Xo, sir: I knew noticing about it at that time. Amer-
ica had been a closed book to me for one year.
Senator Wolcott. You saj^ the information that this propaganda
is afoot in this country is now in the hands of the Government ?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir: such information as I have.
Senator Wolcott. Is the information you refer to now as being
in the possession of the Government information that you yourself
gave or discovered?
Mr. Dennis. Only in part. Some of it I ran across, and some of
it I got from those who were investigating the situation.
Senator Overman. Maj. Humes, have you investigated that matter
with the department ?
Maj. Htjmes. I have been in touch with all of the departments.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 189
Senator ^WoLcoTT. We will eventually get that information, will
■we?
Maj. Humes. I think so; yes, sir.
Senator Wolcott. I think we should ha-^e it, because that is the
main thing we are after.
'Senator Overman. That is \\ hat we are investigating, principally —
the basis of this investigation. Speaking from your own knowledge
and from general information, what do you think is the extent of
this propaganda in this country?
Mr. Dennis. AVell, there are undoubtedly people who are inter-
ested in spreading this propaganda, who have a pretty fair organi-
zation that extends from New York to San Francisco. They have
divided this country up into sections and put it out under various
leaders to handle.
Senator Overman. Do you know, fronv what you have heard,
whether it is growing?
Mr. Dennis. No; I do not. I should say the growth of it would
depend in large part upon the industrial conditions during the com-
ing months — employment or unemployment.
Senator Wolcott. Did you come across Col. Thompson in Eussia ?
Mr. Dennis. He had left before I got there.
Senator Wolcott. Did you come across Mr. Eaymond Kobins 'i
Mr. Dennis. I met him a couple of times in Moscoav.
Senator Wolcott. In what capacity was he acting at the time
when you met him ?
Mr. Dennis. The only one that he had — as the head of the Red
Cross. As far as I know, that was the only official position he had
a,t any time.
Senator Wolcott. Did you have any opportunity to observe his
relations with the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Dennis. Very little. I talked with him at length one day
concerning the Bolsheviki there, because he had been in Moscow
longer than I had. I got there after the revolution. I missed that,
and I A\-anted to know more about it.
Senator Wolcott. Was his attitude one of sympathy with it or
otherwise?
Mr. Dennis. As I understood him at that time, his attitude was
that of — well, sympathy is not exactly the word — recognition of
them, because they were the people who were in, control; not because
of what they stood for or their methods, but because they were the
people in control. I remember specifically that he used the phrase,
" They are the people Avith the guts."
Senator Nelson. And they ought to be recognized, because they
were in control. Was that his theory?
Mr. Dennis. Yes ; they were the only people who seemed to have an
organization and the ability to run the show.
Senator Nelson. And, therefore, he was for them?
Mr. Dennis. Therefore, as I understood it, he was in favor of
dealing with them as representing Eussia. He knew them all and
was on speaking terms with them and kept in touch with them — the
leaders of the movement. He was in Moscow at that time.
Senator Overman. Did you know Trotsky?
190 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
Mr. Denxis. 'No, sir; I never met him personally. I beard him
talk once.
Senator Otermax. Where did you hear him talk, at Petrograd or
Moscow ?
Mr. Dexxis. Moscow. As I judge the situation, Trotzky was the
firebi'and of this group, taking the three of them, Lenine, Tchitcherin,
and Trotslfy.
Senator Nelson. Who was the firebrand?
Mr. Denxis. Trotsky. He is a highly emotional chap.
Senator Overman. Does he make a good speech?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; he makes a very fine, fiery speech, and he is a
chap who believes, as we understood the situation, in carrying this
thing through according to plan with absolute implacability toward
the bourgeoise group. From what I iinow of the situation, this story
that appeared in the American newspaper a while ago, that there had
been a break between Trotsky and Lenine, sounded quite reasonable,
because it was Trotsky who, when they arrested all the English,
French, and other allies, Americans excepted, wanted to hold them
as hostages.
Senator Nelson. Did he want the Americans arrested, too ?
Mr. Dennis. I never knew. I never could find out why they were
not arrested.
Senator Nelson. Were the Americans arrested ?
Mr. Dennis. Individuals were in outlying cities, like Mr. Eoger
Simmons, at Vologda, Mr. Leonard and Mr. Berry, at Tsaritzin, and
there may have been others.
Senator Overman. When did you leave?
Mr. Dennis. On September 2.
Senator Overman. Why did you leave?
]Mr. Dennis. It was getting a bit warm. All the allied powers had
withdrawn from Russia, and there was no place to go.
Senator Nelson. Which way did j'ou come out?
Mr. Dexxis. I was with Dr. Huntington, who testified here, I
believe. We were all on the same train.
Senator Wolcott. You all came together?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Did you have to go around by Sweden?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir. We wanted to go to Archangel, but you
could not get across the Volga. There were some tentative advances
made to the German Government to issue us a safe conduct across the
Baltic to Stockholm.
Senator Nelson. The Germans were in possession of Finland at
that time?
Mr. Denxis. Yes. We asked them to guarantee us a safe conduct,
and we waited for some time, and finally the Diet of Finland guar-
anteed us a safe conduct through Finland.
Dr. Huntington must have told you of our experience in Petro-
grad; how they nearly refused to let us go, and refused to respect
the orders of Tchitcherin, Lenine, and Trotsky.
Senator Overman. That man Tchitcherin is a Russian, I suppose?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. Where is he from?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 191
Mr. De]^nis. He is a man of some rank ; a nobleman by birth, I have
forgotten what; a well-educated man, and a man of wealth at one
time ; a very able gentleman.
Senator ISTelson. The last legation to get out of there was the
Norwegian Legation, and I was reading an account last night in the
newspaper of how long it took them to get out of Petrograd over to
Finland. They were held up time and again on the journey. Evi-
dently they wanted to bleed them and get money from them.
Mr. Dennis. I do not know how successful they were with them.
We were bled.
Senator Nelson. They were not bled, but they were delayed.
Mr. Dennis. We paid and got out.
Senator Wolcott. Did you ever come across Dr. Harold Williams
over there?
Mr. Dennis. Dr. Harold Williams ? No, sir. The only Williams I
knew was not a doctor, but was a banker from Waterloo, Iowa ; the
only man by the name of Williams I ever met in Eussia.
Senator Nelson. Were there many Americans in business over in
Eussia ?
Mr. Dennis. I heard much of other nationalities. I should think
there were a few. The Germans were in business very largely, but
there were very few Americans in Eussia.
Senator Nelson. Did you notice the agricultural implements that
they had on the farms there? Were they American implements or
were they German ?
Mr. Dennis. I do not know, except that the International Har-
vester Company has been in Eussia for a long time, and has a great
plant and has a big business there. Mr. over here can tell you
more about that company's establishment than I can.
Senator Overman. Did they shut up their shop ?
Mr. Dennis. It Mas running when Mr. left. He can tell
you more about what happened than I can, because it was his busi-
ness to run that factory.
Senator Overman. Maj. Humes, have you any more questions?
Maj. Humes. You have spoken about the terrorism toward the
bourgeoisie. Was that terrorism confined to the bourgeoisie, the so-
called upper classes, or was it directed against some groups of the
proletariat as well?
Mr. Dennis. It was at tijnes directed against the proletariat when
they did not follow orders, when they went out to take food at fixed
prices. There have been some very good sized fights between the
peasants and the red guard over that food question, because the
peasant was not to pay taxes; and personally I am quite convinced
that when the peasant got land, the man who actually got the land
was through with the revolution right then and there, and if they
had let him alone he would have been all right. But what can he
buy? What can he do with his money when he does get money?
And they come out and take the food supplies away from him at
fixed prices away below the market price. He is very bitter against
it. I have had a number of them tell me themselves what they thought
about it, and that the old days were better.
Senator Overman. This red fiag, is that on their public buildings,
and on the streets, everywhere?
192 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Dennis. Oh, yes.
Senator OvER:^rAX. Just a pure red flag; nothing on it?
Mr. Dennis. Sometimes it had mottoes on it, but they varied. I
do not know this, I do not laiow that anybody does, but I felt quite
sure that if the Eusisan people, supposing that the peasants are 80
to 85 per cent of the population, were let alone to organize their
form of government, it would be an advanced socialistic govern-
ment, because of the fact that 95 per cent of them have lived all
their lives in this conununistic form of government. But they would
do it by peaceful means. It is the object of the Mensheviki, as of
the Bolsheviki, to establish a socialistic form of goverimient, but
the one wants to do it by the most drastic revolutionary methods,
and the other by evolution. Of course, in industry, the fact that
all industry has gene to pot is due to a number of causes; lack of
ability to get raw materials, first, and secondly, lack of trained brains.
Senator Nelson. And a disinclination of the men to work, too?
Mr. Dennis. Yes. The Russian people very much love to talk,
and this gives them a free opportunity.
Senator Nelson. Then the system will break down from three
causes, lack of raw materials, lack of competent men to run it, and
disinclination of workingmen to take hold and work?
Mr. Dennis. Yes; and lack of ability of the right juan, when they
find him, to give orders to anybody and be sure that they will be
obeyed. I have known a c:isp where the trained men have gone back,
nt the request of the government, and endeavored to do this and
that on the railroads and in the factories, and they would put in a
certnin reform and want to change a certain thing. It did not please
the workman. All right, that settled it. The government has not
the authoritj' to go down there and do it, unless it is with the machine
gun. Every man is a law unto himself, in this dispensation.
Maj. Humes. Under the constitution, all agricultural implements
become the property of the state. What has been done in carrying
that provision into effect?
Mr. Dennis. I du not kn( w, hut I would say nothing had been done.
There is an amazing number of things on pa]oer that ha'^c never leen
canied into effect, l)ocause they have no authority or organization.
Russia is more like a kaleidoscope than anything else. It switches all
the time, and it is a wise man who can plot the thing, and make a
blue print of it.
Maj. Humes. You say that the Russian people like to talk?
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Maj. Humes. Does the soviet government permit, either in the
public press or in public meetings, free expression of sentiments
other than in support of their own activities and government ?
Mr. Dennis. At the present time there is no public press except
the soviet press. There are only Bolshevist newspapers at the present
time.
Maj. Humes. And they will not allow the publication of anything
else but Bolshevik newspapers ?
]\Ir. Dennis. No, sir. There is nothing else.
Senator Nelson. They do not know anything about freedom of
the press, then ?
Mr. Dennis. Oh, no ; oh, no.
Senator Nelson. Or free soeech?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 193
Mr. Dennis. I can not imagine that any discerning-
Senator Nelson. Or anything but Bolshevik speech ?
Mr. Dennis. I can not imagine that any Russian would attempt
to speak in public attacking the Bolsheviki. His shrift would lae
very short.
Senator Nelson. It is strange that when they come over here they
advocate free speech and freedom of the press, and complain against
our Government, and they will not apply that paregoric over there.
Mr. Dennis. They will undoubtedl3' have free speech when all
their people are one class, and all are Bolshevik. [Laughter.]
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. I have heard this story, and I am going to tell
it to you and see if you know of any similar occurrence, and see if
you think it ties in with the general attitude of mind of the Bolshe-
vik masses over there. At an election I understand they vote by
holding up a hand, and on one occasion an election was held and
the Eed Guard was on hand and the people were asked, "All in favor
of such and such a thing, hold up their hands." Of course, most of
them put up their hands. Then the question was put, "All who are
opposed, put up their hands," and three or four very unwise crea-
tures put up their hands in opposition to the Bolshevik side of this
election, whereupon they were hauled out by the Eed Guard and shot.
It was, therefore, a unanimous vote.
Mr. Dennis. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. Did you ever hear of any such occurrence as
that?
Mr. Dennis. I have no evidence of that. Oh, that is quite pos-
sible. Why not?
Senator Wolcott. You think it would not be a surprising thing if
that is done under this regime over there ?
Mr. Dennis. Why, no. I know of things which are quite equal to
that — ^actually know of them; but not exactly like that.
Maj. Humes. What instances do you know of, similar to that?
Mr. Dennis. For example, they have in Eussia an extraordinary
commission for the suppression of the counter-revolution, sabotage,
and — what else is it ? — speculation, which can do anything it pleases ;
which has absolute authority. They arrest people, try them, convict
them, execute them, and do not have to say a word to anybody about
that. You take a country overturned like that, and turn loose a lot
of men, some of them honest, some of them dishonest, some of them
able to see things clearly, and others fanatics of the wildest type, and
put them in there with that power, and what will happen? It is
bound to happen. •
Mr. Leonard, who is here, will tell you mterestmg things about that
extraordinary commission and their doings.
Senator Nelson. You are acquainted with Mr. Leonard?
Mr. Dennis. Yes, sir.
Mai. Humes. Mr. Leonard is here to-day.
Mr. Dennis. I just happened to hear his voice over here, so that
I knew that he was here. -^ ,t..
Senator Overman. Is there anything else, Ma]or, with this
witnGSs E
Maj. Humes. I believe not. We are very much obliged to you, sir.
85723—19 13
194 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
TESTIMONY OF ME. ROBERT F. LEONARD.
(The witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Senator Otekmax. Where are you from?
Mr. Leonard. St. Paul, Minn.
Senator Overman. How long is it since you returned from Eussia?
Mr. Leonard. I left Petrograd on the 16th of November, and
returned here on the 3d of December.
Senator Overman. You came out with this colony?
jNIr. Leonard. No, sir.
Senator Overman. What were you doing in Eussia?
Mr. Leonard. I went over there with the Y. M. C. A. to work
with the soldiers in the field, and then was with the Eussian soldiers
at the front, and then acted as vice consul.
Senator Overman. You worked on the front with the soldiers,
did you ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir ; for quite a time after the revolution, from
August until November, 1917.
Senator Overman. Did you observe in their army this Bolshevik
propaganda going around among the soldiers?
Mr. Leonard. One could not help noticing it. The soldiers were
selling all their things to the Germans. They were selling machine
guns for 5 rubles. They would sell a 6-inch gun for a bottle of
brandy, and then start for home.
Senator Wolcott. Were they selling any American-made ammuni-
tion to the Germans?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. And American-made guns?
Mr. Leonard. Yes; and you would see a lot of Winchester am-
munition over there — U. M. C.
Senator Wolcott. That is, munitions and guns that we, in America,
had made and sent to Eussia ?
Mr. Leonard. It was practical}}' all, though, munitions that had
been bought before we entered the war. That is, it was bought on
contracts between American manufacturers and the Eussian Govern-
ment, and was not furnished by our Government.
Senator Wolcott. It was their property?
Mr. Leonard. It was their property.
Senator Wolcott. And not the property of the American Govern-
ment?
Mr. Leonard. No.
Senator Overman. Did you have any speakers or preachers there?
Mr. Leonard. We had them at the Kiev front. They sent 400
men through the lines who could speak the Eussian language, and
who were to conduct propaganda. Most of the propaganda came
from behind the lines, though. There were, of course, many who
were fraternizing on the front, but the most deadly propaganda was
that carried on behind the lines.
Senator Nelson. Among the soldiers ?
Mr. Leonard. Among the soldiers ; yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Who were the men who were carrying that on?
Mr. Leonard. Members of the Bolshevik party.
Senator Nelson. Were there any men who had been in this coun-
try?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 195
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelsox. Do you knoAv many of them?
Mr._ Leonard. No, sir ; I did not.
Maj. Humes. Do you know who they are, so that you can hand
the committee the names of any of them ?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir; I would not know that; and when I say
that, it is not of my personal knowledge. I talked with some soldiers
who told me that some of these agents had been in New York for
a year or two.
Senator Nemon. Where were you when the Kerensky government
came into being?
Mr. Leonard. I was out in Siberia at that time.
Senator Nelson. You were in Siberia?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. When did you go into Bussia?
Mr. Leonard. I went into Eussia in August of 1917.
Senator Nelson. That was shortly before the Bolshevik govern-
ment of Trotzky and Lenine came in?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. They came in in November?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Where were you stationed then?
Mr. Leonard. I was down with some of the troops not far from
Kiev.
Senator Nei^son. Near Kiev?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Were Russian troops engaged in fighting the
Germans at that time?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir. They had practically laid down. A very,
very small detachment had remained on the front, but there was no
fighting.
Senator Nelson. The soldiers had quit fighting?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. They had organized themselves to control the ap-
pointment of officers and run the whole thing? Is not that so?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And refused to fight?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And was not that one of the main causes that
led to the fall of the Kerensky government and the advance of the
Lenine-Trotzky government?
Mr. Leonard. The Russians now state that one of the causes of
the fall of the Kerensky government was that advance that they at-
tempted in June.
Senator Nelson. They made a successful advance at first?
Mr. Leonard. For about a day.
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Leonard. But that advance was made by a very few. The
onlv forces that charged were made up of volunteer officers who took
rifles and then the Czecho-Slovak troops. The others refused to ad-
vance with them. In many cases they retreated, so that the officers
who advanced, and the Czecho-Slovaks, were very badly cut up.
196 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Nelson. Where were you when the acute portion of the
revolution broke out, in November?
Mr. Leonard. I was down near Kiev, 18 hours from Kiev, with
some troops.
Senator Nelson. What general violence or anarchy took place
there that you observed?
Mr. Leonard. None took place right there. These troops were
half-way loyal, and so they remained quiet; but in Kiev there were
two distinct fights, one occurring some time in November, and the
other, I think, was in Februar3^
Senator Nelson. Yes. Kiev is in the Ukraine country — the
capital ?
]Mr. Leonard. The capital of the Ukraine, on the Dneiper River.
Senator Nelson. Who were in possession of Kiev at that time,
the Russian forces?
Mr. Leonard. The Russian forces were in possession ; and then the
first fight was when the Bolsheviki took the power, and the later
fights were between — there were all sorts of fights, the LTkrainian
parties wanting the independence of the Ukraine and the Bolsheviki
opposing, and it was a very complicated situation.
Senator Nelson. Did not the Bolsheviki stir up and help to
organize the so-called Ukrainian Republic?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir : I think the first Ukrainian party was a party
■■iesiring the independence of the Ukraine, and was more of the
"bourgeois class.
Senator Nelson. Oh, yes.
Mr. Leonard. The Ukrainian movement had been fostered for the
last 10 or 15 years in the Austrian part of the Ukraine, in Galicia,
and after the government was crushed, the Bolsheviki sent their
agents in there, and there is a very strong Bolsheviki party in the
Ukraine.
Senator Nelson. And you recollect that at the time the treaty of
Brest-Litovsk was formed that the Ukraine had representatives there,
and by the permission of Trotsky they were permitted to sign that
treaty ?
]\[r. Leonard. Ye3, sir. As I understand it, the Bolsheviki did
not desire their presence there, and wanted to carry out the whole
thing themselves. However, the Ukrainians sent their delegation and
forced — I do not know in what way, but they forced — their recogni-
tion there.
Senator Nelson. Where were you when the treaty of Brest-Litovsli
was entered into?
Mr. Leonard. Also down near Kiev.
Senator Nelson. You were still there?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. How long did you remain at Kiev ?
Mr. Leonard. I beg your pardon. I left Kiev the 1st of December,
and then
Senator Nelson. Were the Russians then in possession of Kiev?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. The Bolsheviki?
Mr. Leonard. The Bolsheviki.
Senator Nelson. The Bolsheviki had gained possession?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 19 T
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Was there any bloodshed or riot when they took
possession ?
Mr. Leonard. There were two fights in Kiev, both of which I
missed; very heavy fighting. I think the heaviest street fighting
occurred in Kiev ; as heavy as that which occurred in Moscow.
Senator Nelson. Between what parties, between the Reds and the
Whites?
Mr. Leonard. Yes ; between the Reds and the Whites.
Senator Nelson. That is, the Bolsheviki and the anti-Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And the Bolsheviki were finally successful, wera
they?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. And got possession of the town?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Was there very much destruction of life and
property ? Will you tell us what went on there at that time ?
Mr. Leonard. The city was bombarded, and of course there was
great destruction of the buildings and many people were killed. I
do not think that many were killed after the second day. They did
not have anything organized there, and after they got organized
there was no more indiscriminate shooting. They would not shoot a.
man unless they knew who he was.
Senator Nelson. What did the Bolsheviki do after they got con-
trol of the city? Did they loot property — confiscate property — -
commandeer it?
Mr. Leonard. I think the first thing they did was to levy a con-
tribution of 10,000,000 rubles on the city.
Senator Nelson. Oh, that was the first thing?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. What else did they do ?
Mr. Leonard. They put in their agents and took control of the
mdustries ; put their commissars m there.
Senator Nelson. Are you acquainted with any of those commissars?
Mr. Leonard. No ; all I have is what I got in just passing through
Kiev several times. It was never my headquarters.
Senator Nelson. Were there any men who had graduated in
America, over there?
Mr. Leonard. I would not know them in Kiev. I had no official
communication with them.
Senator Wolcott. May I interrupt there, for a question ?
Senator Nelson. Certainly.
Senator Wolcott. I would like to know what is the purely English-
word that is the equivalent of " commissar "?
Mr. Leonard. There is none. It is a term that at first was very
loosely applied to any man bearing a commission from the Soviet
o-overnment. If you are given any job to-day you are called a com-
missar. Now they have tried to limit that word to a few people,,
corresponding with these highest councils. That is, in the govern-
ment they would have their council and commi^ars — a few commis-
oo^c. "Rnf ihat has been without any success. Everybody who has.
198 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Nelson. It practically means the same as the English
word " coinnussioner," in a general way ? "We speak of such and
such a man as a commissioner, and they call him a commissar. That
is ifi
Mr. Leonaed. I guess so. They have adopted the terminology of
the French revolution, and in some cases they have followed it cor-
rectly, but in other cases they have not. For instance, any officer in
control of a station we would call a station master; but they would
have two men there, a station master who is a railroad man, a
technical man, and then they would have a commissar, a member of
the committee, a member of the Bolshevik Party, who would be
there to control' him and see that he did not do anything against
the party — to control his actions. And so in any little place they
would have commissars.
Senator Nelson. How big a town is Kiev? How manj^ people has
it, about?
Mv. Leonabd. I do not know exactly. Its population is over a
million, but it has such a large refugee population, varying from
tim;^ to time.
Senator Nelson. Is it a manufacturing town?
Mr. Leonard. A manufacturing town to some extent; yes, sir. It
is a great commercial town. It is the center of the sugar trade.
Senator Nelson. What did the Bolsheviki do, when they got con-
trol of the town, about carrying on the industries or operating; or
what did they do in the way of comnuindeering and taking property
over ?
^Ir. Leonard. I do not know. As I said, I just passed through
Ki^y several times. I was always going through.
Senator Nelson. "Where did you go to from Kiev after that?
Mr. Leonakd. I vi'ent to Moscow, and then in January and Febru-
ary I took a trip through the southern and eastern part of Russia,
trA'ing to find out if there was an army.
Senator Nelson. Did you go clown the "V^alley of the Don?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir. I went down through Kazan.
Senator Nels'ON. Dowm the "\^olga liiver?
]Mr. Leonard. Yes. I crossed the "\"olga and then went to Ufa and
down to Orenberg, and then back.
Senator Nelson. Did you go up the Kama Eiver?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Senator Nelson. Did you go clown near the mouth of the Volga?
Mr. Leonard. At a later time, but not at this time.
Senator Nelson. Down at Astrakhan?
Mr. Leonard. I was stationed at Astrakhan several months later.
Senator Nelson. How are conditions there?
Mr. Leonard. In Astrakhan?
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Leonard. The town has suffered a good deal. There was fight-
ing there in 'February, and so the center part of the town is pretty
well burned down. The Bolsheviki are in control, and there is some
industry there. Of course, the city is the center of the fish trade,
and the trouble is that they can not ship the fish away. The trans-
portation and delivery has practically stopped, so that the town is in
bad straits.
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 199
Senator Nelson. The country you mention, is not that the country
of the Don Cossacks?
Mr. Leonard. That is the country to the west of the lower Volga.
Senator Nelson. To the west?
Mr. Leonard. Yes; and immediately on either side of the river
there is the desert. Some nomad tribes are there with their stock.
Senator Nelson. How big a town is that, again? How many
people has it, about?
Mr. Leonard. I should say about 70,000—100,000.
Senator Nelson. And the Bolsheviki are in possession of that?
Mr. Leonard. They were at that time.
Senator Nelson. At what other jjlaces up north and west of that
were you at?
Mr. Leonard. I was in Samara, Saratov, Tsaritzin.
Senator Nelson. Were those towns in control of the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir. Also I was at Ekaterinodar.
Senator Nelson. Did you go as far north as the railroad junction
at Viatka ?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Senator Nelson. That is between Perm and Vologda?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir; except when I came through from Siberia
and passed through there.
Senator Nelson. Tell us what you saw of the operations of the
Bolshevik influence, and how they carried on things there.
Mr. Leonard. I think the first thing is that the Bolshevik govern-
ment is a government principally on paper. In Petrograd and Mos-
cow, where they have the most able men in the Bolshevik party, they
are able to some extent to make things go, but in the provinces or in
any other state aside from those two it is pure chance. They pay no
attention to the orders from the center.
I was down at Ekaterinodar.
(At this point the subcommittee took a recess until 2.30 o'clock
p. m.)
AFTER RECESS.
(The subcommittee met at 2.30 o'clock p. m., pursuant to the taking
of recess.)
TESTIMONY OF MR. ROBERT F. LEONARD— Resumed.
Senator Overman. Are you the gentleman that one witness stated
had been imprisoned ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. Who imprisoned you? And where were you
imprisoned ?
Mr. Leonard. At Tsaritzin.
Senator Overman. What size town is that?
Mr. Leonard. About 70,000.
Senator Nelson. Which way is it f rona Moscow ?
Mr. Leonard. Southeast on the Volga River.
CiariotrvT- DvTi^RMAN. Go On aud tell why they put you in jail, how
200 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Leonard. I do not know why we were arrested.
Senator Overman. Were there others besides you?
Mr. Leonard. There was another American vice counstil, an inter-
preter. We had received orders to leave the country. The consuls
were leaving from Moscow, and they sent us word to leave. It was
impossible to get to Moscow because the river communication had
been cut, and the Cossacks had control of the river up above, and
so we started south. About 12 hours after we left they sent a boat
for us and brought us back. There was a plot to overthrow the Bol-
shevik government in the town, which was to have taken effect that
night, six hours after we left. They discovered this plot and also
found about 10,000,000 rubles buried in the ground, and I guess
they thought that money had belonged to us. ho they took us back.
We denied any connection with the government or with the neutral
government, or with the local soviet. We were arrested by this ex-
traordinary commission whose purpose was the combating of coun-
ter revolution, speculation, and sabotage. We were kept in that
place about six weeks.
Senator Overman. You were arrested by soldiers?
Mr. Leonard. By a commissar with an armed guard.
Senator Nelson. Who was that commissar? Do you know his
name?
Mr. Leonard. No ; I do not.
Senator Nelson. Was he a Eussian?
Mr. Leonard. A Eussian; yes, sir. There were two. One was a
Eussian and the other was a Jew. About three weeks later this Jew
commissar was himself arrested. He had tried to steal 2,000 rubles
from the government.
We were kept there for six weeks, and it was only because a Bel-
gian who was living in that town saw us through the window that
they got any word in Moscow. He took word up to Moscow that we
were there, and as soon as our consul, Mr. Poole, laiew it, he took
the matter up with Tchitcherin, their foreign minister, who, to our
knowledge, sent down at least two telegrams to this extraordinary
conunission.
Senator Nelson. The Belgian sent them?
Mr. Leonard. The Belgian took the word up to Moscow that we
were in prison, and then Consul General Poole went to see the foreign
minister about our case, and Tchitcherin sent two telegrams, to our
knowledge — he may have sent more — ordering them to release us un-
less they had incriminating evidence against us, in which case order-
ing that we be sent up to Moscow. They kept those telegrams in
Tsaritzin, and it was only when a Danish vice consul came down to
take out the French colony — there was a French colony of 50 people
there, and the French vice consul had been notified, and he came
down to get them out — that he threw a bluff and said that we were
under his protection, and took us up to Moscow. We were in Moscow
about another three weeks.
Senator Nelson. Were you under arrest in Moscow ?
Mr. Leonard. We were in, solitary confinement.
Senator Nelson. At Moscow?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. In what kind of a prison ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 201
Mr. Leonard. The best one I have ever been in.
Senator Wolcott. Also the vi^orst?
■ Mr. Leonard. No ; we were in four different ones over there.
Senator Nelson. You have not told us about the prison where you
were first kept six weeks.
Mr. Leonard. We were in a big building that had been comman-
deered for the use of this extraordinary commission. I think the only
way you can understand this extraordinary commission is to compare
it with the inquisition. It has full powers, and in order to pass the
farce along quickly, it combines the functions of the prosecuting
attorney and judge, and this building was used as their guard room'
and barracks for their guards, and the prison.
Senator Nelson. That is where you were kept ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes; 14 of us in three little rooms were there for
three weeks. Then they took us over to the city jail.
Senator Nelson. What sort of a place was that?
Mr. Leonard. They put us in a cell that the old regime meant for
one person, 6 by 13 feet.
Senator Nelson. How many were in that?
Mr. Leonard. Five. We were there three weeks, until they took us
£0 Moscow.
Senator Overman. Did you have any bed to sleep on?
Mr. Leonard. The floor.
Senator Overman. Was it cold ?
Mr. Leonard. No ; it was in the early autumn they arrested us, the
middle of August.
Senator Nelson. How were you supplied with food ? Did you get
enough food to eat?
Mr. Leonard. In the first prison, we had quite a bit of black bread
and soup, meat, and potatoes once a day. In the other place they gave
us a half a pound of black bread in the morning and a dish of soup
at noon and some hot water.
Senator Nelson. And what in the evening?
Mr. Leonard. Hot water. Then they took us up to Moscow and
kept us there three weeks.
Senator Nelson. What kind of a prison did they keep you in
there?
Mr. Leon'ard. Very good. The rooms were clean and dry,. and they
had a straw mattress for us.
Senator Nelson. You had plenty to eat ?
Mr. Leonard. The Red Cross — the International Red Cross — sent
us in food that had been given out by the American Red Cross.
Other than that, we got very little.
Senator Overman. Were you under guard all the time?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir. While we were in the first prison, they had
guards stationed in the halls. Then when we went down into the city
jail the doors were locked, of course, and we were supposed to be
taken out for a walk every day — a half-hour walk — but the place was
so crowded that we got a walk the first day we were there and the last
day. The rest of the time we were locked in the cell.
Senator Overman. You said you were in solitary confinement?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
202 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Lf.oxard. They gave you a cell in solitary confinement, kept
you alone, and you Mere not supposed to talk with anybody.
Senator Oveebiax. You said that you were with three or four
other prisoners.
Mr. Leoxaed. "\Alien we were first in Tsaritzin we were all to-
gether, biit when we were brought to Moscow we were placed in
solitary confinement.
Senator Xelsox. Each man by himself?
Mr. Leoxard. Yes. sir.
Senator O^T.E:\rAx. How did you finally get out?
Mr. Leoxard. The Norwegian legation was exerting pressure all
the time. But. for one thing, the Bolshevik government wanted us
to get out. There was a fight all these months between the Bolshe-
vik government and the extraordinary commission. The extraordi-
nary commission had been created by the central Bolshevik govern-
ment, and it had tried to assume all the power to itself, and
declared that it was mider no control ; that it was not responsible
to anybodv. They fought for about six weeks or two months as to
that question, as to whether it was to be independent or not. The
ministry of the interior maintained that the extraordinary commis-
sion was responsible to it, and that if the commission refused to do
what it was directed to do it would be made a separate commissariat
and have its own people's commissar. This extraordinary commis-
sion refused that.
The local s(i\"iets were opposed to this extraordinary commission
because it had its headquarters in Moscow, and tlien its branches in
every city, and commissioners would come to a city where they did
not know tlie situation, did not know the people, did not know the
Bolsheviki, and would start to make investigations, arresting whom-
soever they pleased. The Soviets claimed that this extraordinary
commission should be placed under the control of the Soviets; and
they also put forth this demand, that before executing a man, the
extraordinary commission should report to tlie soAiet, and the soviet
could then look into the matter, and, upon application, could demand
a stay of execution for 24 hours for further consideration, and if at
the end of 24 hours the extraordinary commission Avanted to shoot
him, they could do so. But the commission refused to entertain that
idea, and as I said, when we were in prison at Tsaritzin the Bolshevik
minister for foreign affairs, Tchitcherin, telegraphed down demand-
ing our release, and they ignored it.
At the same time in this jail there was a Bolshevik commission
that had been sent clown to see about bringing ovTt oil from the Cau-
casus, as thei'e was an oil famine in Russia. At the head of it there
V, as a man who had charge of the distribution of oil in Eussia.
The oil industry had been nationalized, and he was in charge, and
his associate was a man detailed from the commissariat of ways and
communications as an expert adviser. In Tsaritzin these members
of this oil commission were all arrested. There was some bad feeling
between the big Bolsheviki in town and the head of this oil commis-
sion, Makrovsky, I guess, and they arrested them. About two days
after they arrested them they shot Alexieff, who was the railroad
adviser, and his two sons, and about three days after that they re-
ceived a telegram from Lenine — signed " Trotsky by Lenine " — de-
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 203
manding that Makrovsky and Alexieff be sent to Moscow imme-
diately; that he kneAv them and would answer for them, and de-
manded that they be released. They had already shot Alexieff, and
they kept Makrovsky there for at least another three or four weeks,
just ignoring this order from Lenine. So there was this fight be-
tween the government and this extraordinary commission. Finally
the government won out, and when the government won out we were
released.
Senator Nelson. At Moscow.
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Then where did you go from there?
Mr. Leonard. Then we went up to Petrograd and remained there
for approximately two weeks, as the border was closed at that time,
and we left Petrograd on the 16th of November.
Senator Nelson. What occurred while you were at Petrograd?
What did you see of the Bolshevik government and their operations?
Mr. Leonard. They had their big celebration, tlieir anniversary of
their coming into power. A very interesting thing happened. In
the first days of November the Bolsheviki became very nervous and
panic-stricken. The situation on the west front before the armistice
was signed was such that they knew that the allies were winning, and
they were afraid that Germany would be used by the allies, that the
allies would join with Germany and march into Eussia and over-
throw the entir^ Bolshevik movement, and there were rumors in
Petrograd that the Germans were marching on Petrograd, and were
alread}!' coming. Tliey were just panic-stricken, and tlie head of
the extraordinary commission in Petrograd asked protection of
the head of the International Eed Cross. That was a very small or-
ganization, a new organization which had been established when, the
American, British, and French Red Cross If ft. They had formed
this International Eed Cross composed of the Scandanavitui, Dutch,
and Swiss, and gave the supplies over to them for the relief of for-
eign citizens in Russia, and they came and asked permission to carry
on their work; and this man was panic-stricken and excited and he
said that he would give this permission if they would in return give
him safe conduct. So he was under the protection of this Interna-
tional Eed Cross, which indicates how panic-stricken they were.
Yet the same people a few days before had refused to obey the orders
of Lenine.
Then when the revolution broke out iii Germany, they were con-
fident that the Bolshevik revolution had come in Germany, and
they were going out to lick the world. So they came from this
one day when they were absolutely panic-stricken, to two days after-
wards when they were very cocky, and then they learned tliat it was
not a Bolshevilf revolution and they set about to make it a Bolshe-
vik revolution and telegraphed to Liebknecht that they were sending
a trainload of flour to the Bolsheviki in Berlin, and the Bolshevik
leaders had daily long-distance communication with the Bolsheviki
in Berlin ; and then they sent a commission of the ablest agents, the
best speakers and best propagandists, into Germany with Bolshevik
money.
Maj. Htjmes. Mr. Leonard, will you tell the committee what you
saw during the time that you were confined in these jails witli refer-
204 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
ence to the operations of the extraordinary commission, as to the way
they wtre handling prisoners — that is, disposing of them.
Mr. Leonard. The}' went on the theory that any man against whom
. there was any accusation was guilty until he was proved innocent and
they would receive anonymous letters charging, or some one would
send warning, that a certain man was engaged in counter-revolution-
ary activity, and upon that they would arrest him and hold liim for
months, maybe, before his case would be brought up ; and if they had
nothing against him they would dismiss him without any explana-
tion. He was guilty until proved innocent. They were very prim-
itive in their methods. I know the first room we were in when
arrested we shared with an Italian, who was guilty, all right, but
they tried to press the inquiry, and they would take him out about
midnight or at three o'clock in the morning and take him and beat
him up with their revolvers. He would tell us about it afterwards
and show the scars. They were shooting men against whom they had
some proof, some of whom undoubtedly were guilty and others were
not. They would come in there and say that they were going to call
the roll, and that these men were going to be sent off to prison — that
they had been tried and were to be sentenced to two, three, or four
years in prison — and the next morning the head of the guard, who
was quite a friend of ours, would tell us where the bullet went in.
Instead of taking them to prison they would line them up against
the ditch.
They brought in one workman vrho was supposed to belong to the
social revolutionary party, one of the original socialist parties of
Russia, and told him to sit down and write all he knew, for he was
to be shot that night. They waited until the next day.
Senator Nelson. Did they shoot him ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Did he have a trial ?
Mr. Leonard. None that we knew of.
Senator Nelson. Was there any trial at which he was present?
Mr. Leonard. None that I know of. He may have had something
in the last hour or so.
Senator Nelson. They tried men without their being present?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
This Makrovsky, this big, very prominent Bolshevik, told me this,
and he and I shared a cell for a time. He was fighting with the head
of this extraordinary commission.
Senator Nelson. What is his name?
Mr. Leonard. Makrovsky.
Senator Nelson. What was his other name?
Mr. Leonard. That was his original name.
Senator Nelson. Did he not have an}' other name ?
Mr. Leonard. None that I knew about.
Senator Nelson. Go ahead.
Mr. Leonard. Some people were asked if they knew this man Mak-
rovskv. A whole line of people were asked, " Do you know this
mnn ? '" They all said, " No." He turned around in a curious way
and said, " I know none of these people." And then he asked me,
" Suppose one of them had said that he knew me, and the others had
all denied it? " I said, " What would have happened if one had said
he laiew you? " " I would have been shot."
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 2,Q)'5
Senator Steeling. What was the charge against this man with
whom you shared this cell ?
Mr. Leonard. He was accused of participating in this counter-
revolutionary plot. He made this statement. He said that the heads
of this commission were degenerates ; that they were not typical Rus-
sians. I remember that he said the head of this commission was
nothing but a degenerate, and that if he ever got to Moscow and he
sa^^" him tliere he would shoot him on the spot, and nobody would say
anything to him about it. This man also said that the people in the
center did not know what was going on in the provinces; that they
had no idea what this commission and people were doing in the
various cities and provinces. He said, "Why, if Lenine knew this
he would shoot them all."
Senator STEELl^G. What did he mean by that; namely, that in the
various provinces and cities they were not revolutionists'^
Mr. Leonard. He meant this, that these people who belonged to the
Bolshevik part}', who held the Bolshevik offices, and who were doing
exactly as they pleased, were not obeying the orders or the instruc-
tions or the spirit of the central government.
Senator Steeling. The central government as represented by Len-
ine and Trotzky ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes ; by Lenine and Trotzky. This man Makrovsky
had a revolver when he came down there and had a permit signed by
the head of the all-Russian extraordinary commission for combat, etc.
The local committee took this revolver away from him. He said,
" I have a permit here signed by Peters, the head of this commission,"
and they said, " Do you mean to say that we have no power here?"
yi&j. Hl^ies. Did j'ou ever know Peters? Did you ever come into
contact with him?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Maj. Hujies. Do you know whether it is a fact that he formerly
was in London ?
Mr. Leonard. I never heard that he Avas in London. I know his
wife still is in London. He speaks English very well.
Maj. Humes. Is he a Russian?
Mr. Leonard. A Lett. Most of the extraordinary commission in
Petrograd are Letts. I could speak better Russian than most of tlie
extraordinary commission in Petrograd, and that is poor enough.
They could not write. They got a list of prisoners there, and when
they came in to take them out, they could not read the names, and one
of the prisoners would have to stand beside them and read the names.
Senator Overman. They did not give you any trial ?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Maj. Humes. How many constitute that extraordinary commis-
,sion?
Mr. Leonard. I do not know. The all-Russian commission in
INIoscow is a ^ er\' elastic structure, and this man Al Peters is the
actual head. There was another man who was supposed to be the
head, but Al Peters does all the chair work. It is an extraordinary
commission for the government of the state. There are no require-
ments— no specifications.
Maj. Humes. Now, Mr. Leonard, during your travels through
Russia did you come in contact with actual examples of terrorism
and brutality?
2W. BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Mr. Leonard. I had been in Astrakhan. I had been sick. Just
before I was arrested I came up to Tsaritzin, hoping to get better.
During the first days after we were arrested occurred the attempt on
the life of Lenine, and just before that two or three of the prominent
Bolsheviki had been shot and attempts had been made to kill others,
so the Bolsheviki were getting nervous. There was also a plot in
Astiakhan to overthrow the government. They had some fighting
there, and it was while we were in jail that they received a message
from Astrakhan and published it in the official bulletin, that the mili-
tary commissar there, a man whom I had known and had dealings
with, telephoned up and said they had shot 300 officers as retaliation
for the counter-revolution plot, and as a retaliation for the attempt
on the life of Lenine.
Maj. Humes. Those were officers of the former Kussian Army^
jMr. Leonard. Yes. That is almost a caste, now. The Bolsheviki
just say •■ an officer " and that classifies him as belonging to that caste.
Then in July, down in Tsaritzin, they were taking out men who
were distinctly of the proletariat but who belonged to this other
party, the social revolutionary party, as we could see from our cell.
We did not know how many they were shooting, but the ditch there
in which tliey were buried grew every night. They were shooting all
the time.
Maj. Humes. Do you know anything about looting; did you come
in contact with any of that?
Mr. Leonard. You can not stop it. When they come in to take a
town they just take things.
Maj. Humes. What did they do with reference to looting houses
and going through houses after they had taken a town ?
Mr. Leonard. They do not loot. They say they own all the prop-
ertj of the nation, that it is all public propertj-, and they just take
what they want.
Maj. Humes. All the personal property is the common property
of each individual in the nation?
Mr. Leonard. Yes; and then they go in and help themselves. I
got acquainted with a Jew who had been in New York who was a
commissar down there; I do not know just what kind. His first act
on taking office was to distribute all the silk stockings they found
there to all the peasant women and working women — to all those who
belonged to labor unions or whose husbands did. The Jew was very
scared at this time because the Cossacks were coming, and he was
going to use his American library card as an American passport to
get out.
Senator Nelson. What was his name?
Mr. Leonard. I can not remember.
Senator Overman. Did you see many of these New York and Chi-
cago Bolshevik sympathizers?
Mr. Leonard. I was in the provinces all the time. People who
came over had an opportunity to get the good jobs, and they were
in the center.
Senator O^^erman. They were in with the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Overman. Did you talk to anv of them ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 207
Mr. Leonard. I talked with just this man. That is the only case
I knew.
Senator Nelson. Where had he lived in this country ?
Mr. Leonard. In New York.
Senator Nelson. On the East Side?
Mr. Leonard. Xes, sir.
Senator Overman. His idea in going over there, Mr. Leonard,
Avas that he ijiought it was going to be a good time, I guess.
Mr. Leonard. Thought it was going to be a good time. He
boasted that he had never done a day's work in his life.
Senator Nelson. A Hebrew?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. And had never done a day's work in his life?
Mr. Leonard. And did not intend to.
Senator Overman. And he wanted to come over to this country
and do the same thing.
Mr. Leonard. No ; he was worried about his life, and he was going
to come over here where he would be safe.
Senator Overman. Did you know Lenine? Did you ever see him?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Senator Overman. Or Trotzky?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir. It might be interesting to quote this man
Makrovsky, a man who ought to know, as he was in the people's
council in Russia.
Senator Nelson. Who?
]S[r. Leonard. This man with whom I was in jail, this oil commis-
sion man. He said that everybody trusted Lenine — that is, of the
Bolshevik party — that everybody trusted and respected and admired
Lenine. They admired Trotzky. He is their best orator, the most
brilliant orator in Russia to-day, but they have not the same faith in
him that they have in Lenine. Lenine, they think, is absolutely
honest — he is an idealist, a fanatic, but he is honest — whereas Trotzky
is capable and brilliant, but they think he has personal ambitions, and
very many of them think that he is getting an army — you see he is the
minister of the army and minister of the navy — and that he is try-
ing to make this army loyal to him as an individual rather than to
the government, and that he is seeking an opportunity to rise. I
just hand that out as the opinion of a very intelligent, educated, and
an ideal Bolshevik.
Senator Overman. He is a man of property and yet a Bolshevik?
Mr. Leonard. He has no property. He is a man of education.
He had been a revolutionist all his life, and had been wounded in the
revolution of 1905; was a student, I think, in Italy and a student
elsewhere, but a man of no property.
Senator Nelson. Trotzky lived in this country for a while, did he
not?
Mr. Leonard. Trotzky has been here.
Senator Nelson. You refer to Lenine?
Mr. Leonard. I was referring to this man who gave me these data.
Senator Overman. Did Makrovsky tell you what they propose to
(Jo — what the plans are of these Bolsheyiki ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes ; he told about their ideals, and all of that. As
near as I could compare them, it was to bring into operation the
208 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGAJNUA.
Golden Enle ; they had fine ideals. But it was very interesting to see
that he changed absolutely there in prison. It was not for fear of
personal danger, though there was that — he was not afraid of his
life — but he had sacrificed everything for the revolution, that had
been his religion, and now the revolution had come and as long as he
was in Moscow he was fairly well satisfied, because something was
happening there, but the minute he got off in the provinces and saw
what was taking place, it was a pathetic sight to see him. His faith
was broken, and although he came to prison a Bolshevik, when he
left he was a Menshe^'ik, absolutely. He said, " The time is not ripe.
We can not put the thing through. It must come by evolution and
not by revolution.''
Maj. Humes. Can you think of any occurrences that you have not
related along the line of the activities of the Bolshevik government?
If so, just proceed and relate them.
Mr. Leoxard. I will trj- to emphasize this, that Bolshevism is a
rule of a minority. The Bolsheviki gained their power in N^ovember.
They promised peace and bread, and to the peasants land; peace,
bread, and land — peace, bread, and freedom. By freedom they
meant giving the workman a chance to nationalize industry, to social-
ize industry, to take complete control, and with those three slogans
they captured the Russian Army, and everybodv was a good Bolshe-
vik as long as it meant getting his land or getting his factory.
Then when the government tried to take his wheat from the peasant
at a fixed price — a much lower price than he could get in the open
market — and when the price of manufactured articles was rising
every day, the peasant said it was unjust and that this was the gov-
ernment of the factory men. They said, " The first thing they do is
to form their committees and lessen their hours of labor, and then
they raise their wages and make them retroactive, so that they get
this increase of wages for a year or more back, and the result of it is
that the prices of goods must rise, and at the same time they are
lowering the price of wheat; so we are getting it both ways." That
caused the great split between the peasants — the farmers — and the
workmen.
Then there was a plan in Petrograd and in Moscow to arm these
men and send them down into the provinces to take the wheat by
force, which, of course, did not appeal to the peasants.
The peasant is conservative, more conservative than the industrial
worker in Russia, and in a local soviet of peasants sometimes they
would not elect a Bolshevik soviet, but would elect a social revolu-
tionary soviet, belonging to the social revolutionary party. Then the
Bolsheviki would send down and by force of arms would expel that
soviet and either restore the Bolshevik soviet or create a new Bolshe-
vik soviet.
But still the conditions did not satisfy them, and so this last fall
Lenine put in the program of these committees of the poor. These
are committees made up of the riffraff of the peasants, those people
who have not any land or have not any property, people that drank
up all the money they ever made, people without any ambition. He
put them in control of the Soviets, or to control the action of the
Soviets ; and so they have a combined function, they are executive and
administrative ; and, of course, that does not appeal to the peasant.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA- 209
The peasant wants to elect his committee and have liis soviet have the
power. Then here come these people, the riffraff, and try to take
what they want. I know in some villages they could not elect any
committees of the poor because they did not haxe any poor peasants.
Then they would import them from some place.
Senator OvEinrAx. Did the officers take any part in this Bolshevik
novement ?
Mr. Leonard. Not what you would call reoular officers. Some of
the students who had always been I'evolutiouary, and who since the
war liad come through quick training camps, came back in the low
>-rades as commissioned officers, and also some who had risen from
:he ranks, and some men Avho saw a chance to make a career for them-
selves, took part in it.
Senator Oveuman. Where was the German army while all this was
3'oing on?
Mr. Leonaed. The Germans were transferring their ai'my from' the
eastern front to the western front. During all this time there was
hardly any fighting. After that advance of June, 1918, came a re-
treat, and then fighting practically stopped. There was desultory
fighting.
Senator Nelson. And the German troops were sent to the western
front.
Senator Oveejian. Did they fraternize with the Germans at all,
while 3'ou were there ?
Mr. Leonaed. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. The Germans were encouraging the Bolshevik
movement?
Mr. Leonard. Very much so.
Senator Nelson. Did you see any of these Bolshevik troops?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. I mean the troops of the army.
Mr. Leonard. Of the Bolshevik army?
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Did they have German officers among them?
Mr. Leonard. None that I ever saw, except in this, that they had
what they called international battalions of the red army, made up
for the most part of prisoners of war. But there were very few
officers among them. There were noncommissioned officers, but very
few commissioned officers.
Maj. Humes. You mean German nonconmiissioned officers?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir. They had this international battalion com-
posed of Germans, Austrians, Hungarians, and Chinese.
Senator Nelson. Did they have any sailors there — Russian sailors?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. Were they in the Bolshevik army ?
Mr. Leonard. They were at first. But they are not idealists, by
iny means. They are not fighting for any ideals. The sailors are
the roughnecks of Russia. They terrorize. For instance, 30 sailors
3ame to Suma and held up the town, held it for two days, and arrested
ill the government officials. They went into the port towns of
Novorssiisk and other towns, and they tokl me that when they came
to Odessa none of the sailors had less than 40,000 rubles. They had
210 BOLSHEVIK. i-KUi-AUAJNUA.
looted the banks. A crowd of 20 to 40 would come into a town and
take the hotel and insist they were going to live there. In one town
one of the government officials tried to get me a room in the hotel
and he could not do it. They did not dare throw the sailors out.
Senator Nelson. These were Black Sea sailors?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir. They were all the same, Baltic or Black
Sea.
Senator Nelson. Are the Baltic sailors bad ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir: they are more of the regular sailor type.
Most of the regular army of Russia was killed, but the navy, of
course, did not suffer, so they have the old men, still, men who are
not afraid, and who have been harshly treated and are out for re-
venge and a wild time.
Senator Nelson. What was your experience in getting out from
Petrograd ?
Mr. Leonard. Why, there was no experience, except that when
the way was open they gave us permission and we went to a Finnish
port.
Senator Nelson. Did you have to buy your way across?
Mr. Leonard. We had to buy our baggage through the customs
and have it carted down, and we went out with a Norwegian courier.
Between us we had a good deal of baggage, enough to fill a little
handcart, and they carried our baggage through the customs, about
four minutes' walk, and charged us a thousand rubles, which went
to the government employees there.
Senator Sterling. Mr. Leonard, I would like to ask a little more
particularly about soviet government in Eussia. Can you say about
how many of the soviet governments there are in Russia ?
Mr. Leonard. I left there in the middle of November, and there
have been so many changes, I can not say.
Senator Sterling. The soviet government is an old institution in
Russia, is it not ? Even before the revolution, and for a long time,
they had soviet governments, had they not?
Mr. Leonard. Not to my knowledge. They attempted in the revo-
lution of 1905 to establish, the Soviets of soldiers, sailors, and work-
men. When the revolution was overthrown in 1905 of course those
Soviets were abolished — destroyed — but since then it has been an idea
of their own that if they e\'ei' had the power they would establish
this government of the councils.
Senator Sterling. Coincident with the revolution itself and the
overthrow of the Czar, a number of these soviet governments were
established there?
Mr. Leonard. These Soviets, these councils, were established, but
took no part in the government aside from criticizing. At that time
there was a dual government under Kerensky — or rather, the first pro-
visional government — and thit was really the Petrograd soviet. The
Petrograd soviet wanted to have things done its own way but re-
fused to take the power itself.
Senator Sterling. T^Tiat is the territorial jurisdiction of these
soviet councils or governments? Do they have one for the city?
Mr. Leonard. On the top they have this all-Russian soviet which
meets in Moscow. Then there will be a district of several states
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 211
which has a district soviet, and then each state will have a state
soviet, and each city will have a soviet.
Senator Sterling. What do you call a state now, in Russia ?
Mr. Leonard. One of the old provinces we would call a state. It
is a geographical division. They will have a soviet for a state, and
then a city will have its soviet, and then a ward will have its soviet ;
but they are all tied up together.
Senator Sterling. They have the federal supreme soviet, then the
district Soviets, then the state Soviets, and then the city and village
=oviets ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, and then the agriculturalists will have the
county Soviets.
Senator Steeling. On the establishment of those Soviets were they
in the hands of the Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Senator Steeling. Did the Bolsheviki succeed in capturing them
later?
Mr. Leonard. The Bolsheviki captured them by propaganda, and
the Soviets as first established were more radical than the first pro-
visional government ; but at that time they were not Bolshevik, and
it was only about in July that the Bolshevik movement got to be seri-
ous in Petrograd. Then they were electing their members into these
Soviets, so gradually by absorption most of the Soviets became Bol-
shevik, and it was only when they found that they had the Soviets in
this mariner that they attempted to overthrow the government. The
Soviets were not captured by force; it was by absorption.
Senator Sterling. Are there any considerable number of soviet
governments or councils not in the hands of the Bolsheviki at the
present time?
Mr. Leonard. At the present time I would say none whatsoever
in bolshevik Eussia, because such do not exist.
Senator Steeling. What do you understand by bolshevik Russia?
I want to know what part of Russia, if any, is not under the domi-
nation of the Bolshevik movement?
Mr. Leonard. The Ukraine, part of it, is not under Bolshevik gov-
ernment. But I see by the papers that the Bolshevists are advancing
into the Ukraine.
Senator Steeling. How about that territory captured by the
Czecho-Slovaks and the Little Russian armies in Vologda for 200
miles along the Volga River? Is that under Bolshevik rule?
Mr. Leonard. I think it is, now. It has been recaptured. They
drove the Czecho-Slovaks out of Samara in September, I should
3a^^ but for a time the Czecho-Slovaks had control of the Volga River.
"Senator Wolcott. Would it be a fair statement tO' say that the
Bolsheviki rule over the greater part of European Russia now ?
Mr. LroNAPD. ^>Y;>'"!"oul" a map it would be hard to sa'''. hr.t I should
iaj it would be a little more than a half. Finland is out, part of
Poland, and part of Ukraine. The Caucasus is in, and then the
Don Cossacks; so that it leaves Big Russia, what they call Big Russia,
in their hands. So I should sav it would be pretty evenly distributed ;
perhaps a little more than half.
Senator Steeling. How about the government in northern Russia,
iround Archangel?
212 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGANDA.
Mr. Leonard. Of course, that is not Bolshevik.
Senator ISteiujng. But thev liave there the soviet councils, do they
not?
iSIr. Leonard. I reallj^ do not know — I have never been there — but I
do not think so. I tliink they hav,e some other form of government.
Senator Xelson. That northern part of Eussia, north of the Si-
berian Eailroad, around tlie ATliite Sea and Archangel, and up in
that country, is very thinly settled?
Mr. Leonard. A'ery sparsely settled.
Senator Nelson. It is a country of vast swamps and heavy timber?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.'
Senator Xelson. And there are few people there, comparatively?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. The settlement in Russia is south of what j'ou
call the Siberian Railroad t
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xel.son. Xorth of that it is practically what wo would
call largel}' a nonsettled country, is not that the fact?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Sterling. Were you in the northern part at all?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir ; I was not. I gained this information from
a British major who was in jail in Moscow with us.
Senator Xelson. Have not some European capitalists built a road
up to the Kola Peninsula, on the Murman coast?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Xelson. It is 600 or 700 miles long?
Mr. Leonard. About that distance.
Senator Nelson. Then there is an older road from Vologda up
to Archangel?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. And a road connected with Viatka, east of that,
a station west of Perm?
Mr. Leonard. I passed through there in July.
Senator Xelson. How did you go out?
Mr. Leonard. I went by the railroad through Ii'kutsk.
Senator Sterling. How far east from the European Russian
boundary is Irkutsk?
Mr. Leonard. It is just about half way across Siberia.
Senator Sterling. Where, from Lake Baikal?
Mr. Leonard. About 40 miles west of Lake Baikal.
Senator Sterling. How about that region in there, is that under
Bolshevik rule, along the trans-Siberian road?
Mr. Leonard. I can not say now, because it is changing so often.
Mr. Storey came from there after I did.
Senator X'elson. I think the country from Vladivostok up as far
west as Omsk in western Siberia, and perhaps across as far as Perm,
is practically under the control of the anti-Bolsheviki, under the con-
trol of the Czecho-Slavs, the Japanese, the French, and the Enghsh.
Mr. Leonard. I think that for a time the eastern part, near Vladi-
vostok, and then the Urals, Avere in the possession of the anti-Bol-
sheviki, whereas around Irkutsk they were Bolsheviki.
Senator Xelson. But they have been cleaned out of there. Irkutsk
is near Lake Baikal and is the capital of eastern Siberia ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 213
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Sterling. What has become of the Czecho-Slovak Army
that was fighting there and holding for a time the Trans-Siberian
Eailroad ?
Mr. Leoxard. They have had to retreat because tliey had no sup-
port at all. It was meant to serve as a nucleus I'or a Siberian' g-ov-
ernment, but instead of having one government they had over a hun-
dred there. The army of the Czecho-Slovaks were underfed and un-
derclothed and had tremendous losses, out of 440,000 troops their
casualties Avere 40 per cent, and when no support came they had to
withdraw to save themselves.
Senator Sterling. Did you meet Col. Lebedeff?
Mr. Leonard. No ; I did not meet him.
Senator Sterling. You have heard of him '''. He was very much
interested in the Czecho-Slovak Army and helped in the raising of
a loyal Russian Army.
Mr. Leonard. I do not know whether — he M'as across the line, evi-
dentlj'. We got very little news thei-e. We got new^s from across the
line only once in a while.
Senator Xelson. Part of the Ukraine is now held by the Bolshe-
viki, is it?
Mr. Lkonard. If you can believe the newspapers, they have taken
almost as far as Kiev.
Senator Nelson. That is in the western part of the Ukraine ?
Mr. Leonard. It is in the northeastern part. The Ulcraine runs
like that [indicating], and it is in the northeastern part.
Senator Nelson. They claim clear from the boundary?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir; but the line runs like that [indicating].
Senator Nelson. How^ is it with the Cossacks on the steppes back of
the lower Volga? Do not the Don Cossacks hold that?
Mr. Leonard. Yes. sir.
Senator Nelson. Then that is not under control of the Bolsheviki,
is it ?
Mr. Leonard. When I left it was not.
Senator Nelson. That country up aroimd the Dvina River, is that
in control of the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Leonard. No; that was in control of the anti-Bolsheviki.
Senator Nelson. So that the center of the Bolshevik power there
is in what they call (rreater Russia, and a part of Little Russia, and
a part of LTkraine. That is about it?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir. Its big center is in Moscow. It is an
industrial movement. It is a movement of the armed minority of the
industrial classes — the factory worlmien.
Senator Nelson. Ho that, roughly speaking, they have got about
half of Russia proper under their control?
Mr. Leonard. It would show approximately a half, I would guess.
I -would make no definite statement without a map.
Senator Nelson. And they have practically lost control of Siberia?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir. A question has been raised here about
food. I would say that there is sufficient food in Russia, provided
there could be distribution. In the northern Caucasus there are
tremendous supplies of wheat. They have not touched the crops for
two or three vears' back. They have the crops stored there.
214 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Xelsox. They have poor transportation facilities?
Mr. Leonard. Very poor. During the summer they can transport
by the river. One railroad was absolutely cut off and the other
railroad was cut off a good part of the time ; and it is only a single-
track road, anyway.
Senator Xelson. Is that railroad from Baku cut off ?
Mr. Leonard. When I was there it was cut off by the hill tribes.
Senator Xelson. That is in the oil fields on the southwest side of
the Citspian Sea?
jMr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. I believe vou said that the Bolsheviki had control
of Astrakhan?
Mr. Leonard. They had when I was there. I see by the papers
that the British are supposed to have entered Astrakhan.
Senator Xelson. Ancl a British fleet is outside of Odessa, in the
Black Sea ?
Mr. Leonard. So the papers say.
Senator Xelson. That is the principal town in southern Russia, is
it not?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. It is their greatest wheat market?
JNIr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. Eight face to face with what they call the Black
Belt in Russia?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. And the country immediately around Odessa is
not under the control of the Bolsheviki?
]Mr. Leonard. Xo, sir.
Senator Xelson. How is it down in the Crimea ?
Mr. Leonard. When I was in Russia nobody kiiew what was hap-
pening down there. They had different governments down there.
Senator Xelson. The Bolsheviki did not have control of tliem?
Mr. Leonard. That was a part of Ukraine, so the Bolsheviki were
not in control there at that time.
Senator Xelson. The country around the north side of the ."^ea of
Azov, that is, where the Don enters into it
My. Leonard. That is in the hands of the Don Cossacks.
Senator Xelsox. And the Bolsheviki have no control there?
Mr. Leonard. Xo: they were driven back by the Don Cossacks and
by the Germans.
Senator Xelson. The Don Cossacks — that is, the older element-
are not with the Bolsheviki?
Mr. Leonard. Their loyalty is wavering because they have not
any money or supplies.
Senator Xelson. But if thej^ had monej' or supplies, they would
be all right?
Jlr. Leonard. T'nless they are all tired. There is that feeling, and
there was that split between the Don Cossacks and the younger Cos-
sacki, who had been to the front and came back strongly tainted with
Bolshevism. For a time they were widely split, and then they came
together. The younger Cossacks wanted their own land.
Senator X^'elson. Do you not have an idea, Mr. Leonard, that the
outcome will be this, that the Russian peasants and the Cossacks and
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 215
the remnants of the old Eussian Army will by-and-by unite and be
able to stamp out the Bolsheviki ?
Mr. Leonard. Provided they can unite. That has yet to be
proved. That has been the trouble over there. That has been the
reason the Bolshevik party has been able to hold its position, he-
cause not of strength of its own but because of the weakness of its
opponents.
Senator Nelsox. Do you remember the name of that Eussian ad-
miral who has assumed control of the Siberian Eailroad?
Mr. Leonard. Admiral Kolchak.
Senator Nelson. He is anti-Bolshevik?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir; very much so.
Senator Nelson. And he seems to have done pretty well lately in
the neighborhood of Omsk?
Mr. Leonard. You get more information about that than I do, be-
cause when I was in Eussia we got absolutely nothing over there, as
to anybody.
Senator Nelson. But you have kept track of the papers since you
have come here?
Mr. Leonard. I gather from the newspapers that he has been a
reactionary.
Senator Nelson. Naturally, the tendency of the Cossacks would
be toward the conservative side, as toward the Eussian side — anti-
Bolshevik — would it not ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes. The feeling of the Cossacks was that they
would defend their own territory, but they were opposed to invading
Bolshevik Evissia in order to overthrow the Bolshevik government.
Senator Nelson. But they would never submit to the Bolshevik
government ?
Mr. Leonard. Some of them have done so.
Senator Nelson. They would not allow their lands to be taken
away from them?
Mr. Leonard. Some of them have done so. The trouble in the
whole situation was that they would not unite. They would fight
among themselves until the Bolshevik party came in, and then when
they were powerless and their arms had been taken away they would
begin to think about getting together; and eventually they did, but
at tremendous cost.
Senator Nelson. Do you not apprehend that ultimately there will
be dissension among the Bolshevik leaders, and they will break up
into sections?
Mr. Leonard. They probably will.
Senator Nelson. Yes.
Mr. Leonard. That is very probable, except for this, that they
are pretty keen men, and they know that their only safety lies in
sticking by each other; that the minute the}' start fighting among
themselves, the whole thing falls.
Senator Nelson. Are there many of those Bolshevik leaders that
have lived here in this country?
Mr. Leonard. I do not know. In the provinces where I was most
of the time there were very few. My friends who have been in Petro-
grad and Moscow say that there are a great number of them there.
216 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
The foreign minister of the Petrograd government is n man who has
been in America.
Senator Xelson. AAliat is his name?
jNIr. Leonard. Zorin.
Senator Xelson. What is his real name '.
Mr. Lec)Nakd. I do not know.
Senator Xelson. Is lie a (xerman or a Hebrew?
Mr. Leonakd. Xo; he is a Kussian, so far as I could say.
Senator Xelson. He is a real Russian!'
Mr. Leonard. He is neither a German nor a Hebrew.
Senator SaisRLiNG. What is the thought, among those opposed to
the federal movement, in regard to allied intervention, and the use
of a sufficient military force ''.
Mr. Leonard. At first they said " All we need is a nucleus." They
said, " Wliy, with a regiment of American, or British, or French
soldiers we could take Moscow. AVhy not send us just a nucleus?''
Thej could take the town, but they could not hold it, of course.
They now no longer asked for such help, but the people I knew
wanted the allies to come in and save them. For instance, the Finns
"were asking for help. But the people I met throughout Eussia, as
recently stated, had been through the four years of war and suffer-
ing, and were apathetic, and they were expecting the allies to come
in and save them.
Senator Sterling. With a small allied force they could at one time
have taken ]\Ioscow and prevented the establishment of the Bolshevik
government there?
Mr. Leonard. I do not know about that. With all these counter-
revolutionary plots that I saw it was easy at any time to take a city.
But what is the use of it ? You can not hold it. There is one com-
munity there, and all around you are the enemyl You have no way
of getting ammunition, and that is the whole trouble. But as to put-
ting a nucleus of a military force there, it has been tried in three
places and has not been a success anywhere. They gave them 40,000
to 60,000 C'zecho-Slovaks, troops than whom there are no better fight-
ers in the world, and the army did not materialize. The Czecho-
slovaks for several months fought against overw'helming numbers
and finally, because of luck of support, had to Avithdraw.
They tried the same thing down in Baku. They asked the aid of
the British to come over fi-oni Ensili, which is about 18 hours by boat,
and they asked them to send up a small group of British, with British
officers and some armored cars, and some guns and ammunition. The
British responded. They sent up about 50 officers, if I remember cor-
rectly, and several hundred men. and I think vrere to have about 2,000
men and some armored cais in Baku. They could not hold the town.
The people did not rally around them. At the same time that the
jieople were asking aid of the British they were making Turkish flags
as well as British flags in their homes, so that they would be ready
to hang up t1ie right flag, whichever side won. There came up a small
force, and they fought for about two weeks and then had to go back.
The conditions were not very favorable for trying out anything
at Archangel, because there were not many troops there, and it seems
that the allies had to do most of the fighting there.
Senator Nelson. Where is that?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 217
Mr. Leonaed. Archangel. So that at three different, places where
it has been tried — two places Avhere it has .been tried under good con-
ditions and one place where conditions were not so good — the at-
tempts have failed.
Senator Nelson. So that more than a mere nucleus of an army
would be required to maintain order and keep the Bolsheviki in
check ?
Mr. Leoxakd. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelsojj. "With the port of Archangel and that jjost on the
Murman coast, on the Kola Peninsula, and with all the ports on the
Black Sea under the control of the allies, and also the ports along tlie
Baltic under the control of the British and French fleets, those Bol-
sheviki are cut off from the sea in Petrograd, are they not?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. And Avill not that ultimately lead to their coming
down from the high tree ?
Mr. Leonaed. It may lead to it ultimately. But on the other hand,
Avith a population 85 per cent of whom are peasants who have not
any very great demands, they can exist on what they have and what
they can raise.
Senator Xelson. Xo; but those industrial workers have got to get
raw materials.
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. To carry on their manufacturing ; and if they do
not get to work and earn something, where will they be ?
Mr. Leonard. They will print more money.
Senator Nelson. The last that they got printed was at Leipzig, I
believe ?
JNIr. Leonaed. They may have gotten some there, but now they
print it in every town. They have commandeered practically all of
the lithographing establishments, and are printing the money.
Senator Wolcott. Do you know a man by the name of Harold
Kellock?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir ; I do not.
Senator Wolcott. Are you in position to say what acreage was
planted in spring grain and in spi'ing wheat in 1918, as compared with
ordinary years?
Mr. Leonaed. The men of whom I asked that question down in the
northern Caucasus, which is a very rich countrj^, said that it was
about 75 pel' cent they thought. The big estates have been taken and
divided up. On that stretch southwest of Tsaritzin there has been
very little j^lanted because of the civil war — fighting all the time.
Some Avas planted, but there Avas no har^-est, as there was fighting
all the time. In Tsaritzin, they sent out the women into the fields.
They gathered all the women and sent them out to do Avhat harvest-
ing they could behind the armies. I should say that there is no ques-
tion of shortage — of dire shortage — of grain in Eussia, provided they
can get it to Moscoav and Petrograd ; provided they haA-e the trans-
portation necessary, or can stop the fighting to let the trains go by.
I Avas talking with a man Avho had been detailed from a Petrograd
factory to get some wheat to Petrograd last spring. At that time
the railroad was not cut ; but his preparations for g;etting that wheat
consisted of a special train, carrying armed men Avith machine guns.
218 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
They had all the cars and orders to get the grain, but they had to
have that protection in order to get the grain through to protect it
from the other Bolsheviki.
Senator Wolcott. Here is a statement which I will read from a
magazine.
Senator Steklixg. From what are you going to read ?
Senator Wolcott. This is from an article written by Harold Kel-
lock in the Good Housekeeping Magazine of February of this year,
entitled "Aunt Enuny wants to know who is a Bolsheviki, and why."
I read as follows :
But in spite of tliese terrible tilings the spring planting was done, and a
bigger acreage was sown than at any time since the war. The peasants were
working for themselves.
Xow, he must have referred to the spring of 1918. "What have
you to say as to the accuracy of that statement?
Mr. Leonard. I would say, from my knowledge, that it is in-
accurate. There are three things opposed to it. In the first place,
there has been a lot of civil war — civil fighting. The men were
under arms and could not work. In other places where it had been
planted the harvest could not be reaped because of the fighting.
Around Samara, which is a fertile place, they could not plant
because of lack of seed. The seed was gathered up from old estates
and distributed, but because of the famine the peasants took the seed
grain and ate it. The fact is that the peasant is a hard-headed fel-
low. He is not sure who is going to reap the grain that he plants.
Under those conditions he does not see any good in jDutting his money
into the grain and the seed and his time into the cultivation of it.
Still another thing- is that the peasants have more paper money
than they want. They have literally thousands of rubles. Ever
since the war started, since the prohibition of vodka, the peasant
has been putting money into the savings banks and buying things
for his house and buying phonographs. Even in 1916 this was true
out in Siberia, that a peasant who had 20 acres, and licfore that had
planted and cultivated the whole 20 acres, was able to make a living
and had been making a lot more money than he did before would
say, '' AAliat is the use of planting 20 acres? I can live just as well
if I plant only 10 acres." So that he has been planting 10 acres and
letting- the other 10 acres lie. Xow, the same thing holds much more
when his crop is taken from him at a price which he considers unfair,
and when at the same time with the money which he is given in
return he can not buy anything that he wants. He is paid for his
crop in paper money. He does not know who is going to harvest that
crop, anyway; so he is going to plant just enough to keeji himself.
Senator Wolcott. You spoke of one district, I think you said, it
was down in the Caucasus
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Wolcott (continuing). Where there are abundant quan-
tities of grain now, if they could just transport it?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. In the spring of 1918 was that district under
Bolshevik control I .
Mr. Leonard. The district was. The river was in the control, about
May, of the Czechs. The central part of the Volga Eiver was in their
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 219
control. Both the mouth and the source of the Volga are held in the
control of the Bolsheviki, but the center was under the control of the
Czechs, and they could not get anything past. There was a railroad
running from there straight up to Moscow, which ran through the
Ukraine, but that was impossible to be used. There is one other
road that zigzags up
Senator Wolcoit. I am not concerned so much about the trans-
portation problem. I am trying to test the accuracy of the statement
of this article that the author puts in this Good Housekeeping Maga-
zine. That is what I am concerned about.
Mr. Leonaed. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. You said that the statement I read was inaccu-
rate?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Wolcott. Confining the statement to that portion of
Kussia that the Bolsheviki control, would you say that it was just
mildly inaccurate or that it was grossly inaccurate?
Mr. Leonard. I would say that it was mildly inaccurate.
Senator Wolcott. It is not a gross misstatement?
Mr. Leonard. No ; mv estimate would be 75 per cent. He says more
than 100 per cent.
Senator Wolcoti\ No ; he does not say that.
Mr. Leonard. He says more than ever was planted before.
Senator Wolcott. At any time since the war.
Mr. Leonard. My statement is that 75 per cent has been planted.
He says over 100 per cent, whereas I have said 75 per cent.
Senator Overman. Have you noticed since you have been home any
propaganda of this Bolshevik business going on in this country ?
Mr. Leonard. A week ago Sunday I went up on the north side of
Minneapolis, Avhere they advertised a play in Russian by the Russian
Slavic Educational Society — under the auspices of that society. It
was a little one-act play put on by amateurs, which was a tirade
against capitalism and the injustice of capitalism; and after that a
man who had been a delegate to the so-^'iet congress in New York
came out and delivered a speech in favor of Bolshevism, and
rather
Senator Nelson. Was that in Russian?
Mr. Leonard. In Russian — and he rather sneeringly spoke of the
United States and its President; but it was an out-and-out Bolshevik
speech, for he said that the Russians under the Bolsheviki were
living far better than they ever had before, and he held up the
Bolshevik government as tlie ideal governmert.
Senator Nelson. What is his name?
Mr. Leonard. Gregorin.
Maj. HxTMES. Is that his first name?
Mr. Leonard. No, that is his last name. I think his first name
was Alex. The thing that impressed me most was that this audience
was fairlv well dressed.
Senator Hardwick. How was he received ?
Mr. Leonard. He received an ovation. The whole audience stood
in honor of the fallen heroes, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxem-
burg.
220 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Wolcott. In this article that I read from a moment ago.
I find two pai-agraphs which are calculated to leave the impression
on the mind that the chief leaders in this Bolshevik movement are ani-
mated entirely by a praiseworthy sentiment of love for the nation
and desire to educate the people, and that they have no selfish pur-
poses at all to serve. Xow. I want to read you these two para-
graphs and see if your observations over there were such as to lead
you to agree with the impression that these two paragraphs make
upon the mind. [Eeading :]
Some reniiirkiible personalities have lipcn included nmoiig these cninmissars.
They work for workmen's salaries, 600 i-ubles (aliont ^90) a month, with an
extra allowance of 100 ruliles for each dependent. Thus Lenine, wliose wife is
employed in the department of educatiim. Rets 600 rubles, and Trotsky, who
has a wife and tlnve children, prets 000 i-ubles. Both Lenine and Tchieherin,
the Commissar for Foreif;"n Affairs, come of old well-to-do Russian families.
Trotsky is the son of a prosperous .Jewish merchant. In Peti-o.srad Trotsky
and his family lived in a little garret room in Smolny Institute, the soviet
headquai'ters.
Tchieherin serveil as a. diplomat under the Czar before he became a revolu-
tionary Socialist. While commissar of foreign affairs in Petrograd, he lived
in a shabby little lodging liouse in the working qimrter. and members of the
American Red Cross mission who had occasion to call upon him at his office
would find him transacting affairs of state clad in a soiled sweater and baggj-
old trousers.
Xow, that conveys to my mind the impression that these men
were poor men. and, so to speak, hugged their poverty, notwithstand-
ing the,y were in places of power.
]Mr. Leonard. It is both true and untrue. They are very demo-
cratic and do not care hoAv they dress, and they do not care in what
kind of places they work. But Lenine in Moscow has good quar-
ters. The Bolsheviki have taken over the best hotel in town nnd get
it rent free. Trotsky lives in the next best hotel. They all have
Peerless automobiles, those Avho have not Packards.
Senator "Wolcott. They are not living in garrets, then?
IMr. Li:nxAKD. When working they can not keep a room in order:
so that this room, after two weeks under Bolshevik rule, would' look
like a room in a svreat shop: and in the next room, if there was a
pre&s of work, Lenine and Trotsky Avould live, night after night.
So that is true. But they live pretty well, aside from that. As to
what he says about their being idealists, and all of that. I think most
people in Eussia agree that Lenine is actuated entirely by ideal mo-
tives. You can not agree with them; but some of the leaders-
most of the leaders — are, the people say. But most of their workers,
most of their associates, are not idealists. This statement was made
to me by a man who had been in Eussia, and a man who was sup-
posed to know. He says that To per cent of the leaders are honest.
They are fanatics, and you can not agree with what they are doing:
but 75 per cent of the leaders are honest. But 7.") per cent of the men
are dishonest.
Senator Wolcott. Are you in a position to entertain and to express
a reliable opinion, to make a reliable statement, as to whether this
assertion that they are working and getting only 600 rubles or 900
rubles a month is true. Is that all they are given?
]Mr. Leonaed. That is true, officially. It has since been raised
because of the high cost of living. Lenine is now getting 1.200
BOLSHEVIK PnOPAGAIvTDA. 221
rubles. That Avas raisecl by act of law. That is Avhat they are
making officially. What some of them get in other ways is' hun-
dreds of thousands. Others do not take a cent in that wav.
Senator Wolcott. It is well known that they are getting a lot on
the side?
Mr. Leonard. Some of then^ are. Others are not. This man who
was in jail with me, Makrofsky, was getting his 1,000 rubles a
month, and that was all, and there was absolutely no graft ; w'hereas
an old Jewish fish merchant who was doA\-n iii Xavorossisk made
himself minister of finance, and it was not many weeks before he
sent his Avife out of the country with millions.
Senator Wolcott. He was not an idealist?
]Mr. Leoxaed. He was not an idealist.
Senator Wolcott. He was not restricted to his 1,000 rubles a
month ?
Mr. Leonard. Xo.
Senator Wolcott. Here is this statement [reading] :
For the first time a real school system has been formed, and everj' child in
Soviet Russia goes to school.
Mr. Leoxaed. That is the best department they have.
Senator Wolcott. The schools are running, are they?
Mr. Leonard. They are, in a differeiit fashion. Everything is
State. They do not allow the private schools or private gymnasia
to function any more. They are trying to put on great reforms in
feeding the children in the schools, and in playgrounds, and so forth.
On the other hand, they put into the faculties, of their schools jani-
tors and washv'omen, and let them have a vote in determining the
curricula of the institutions. They have clone away with the require-
ments for admission to the universities, because they say that vi^orks
only to the good of the capitalist class. Only those who come from
the capitalist class can comply with the requirements; so they say,
■■ We must admit anybody who comes to the university, equalty."
They have a big program and are doing things. /
Senator Wolcott. I Avas just going to ask, are they doing things?
Mr. Leonard. In several places they are.
Senator Wolcott. In other words, they are teaching the three Ks,
anrl their educational program seems to support their theory, very
largely.?
Mr." Leonard. Yes: but if I may be permitted to say this here, the
thing that this man said in his speech in Minneapolis, this Russian,
was that people accused the Russians of being uneducated. " Tkit,"
he said, '" I call that man educated who has class consciousness."
Senator Nej^son. Was that at north Minneapolis?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Nelson. Was it on the east or the west side?
Mr. Leonard. It Avas on the Avest side.
Senator Nelson. Were there many there?
Mr. Leonard. About 300.
Senator Nelson. What AAas the character of the people Avho Avere
there? Were they Russians?
Mr. Leonard. They are all Russians. The Avhole thing Avas in the
lano'uage. And that is one thing they are trying to do in this
school, nahielA-. to inculcate class consciousness.
222 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
Senator Overman. Now, carrying out the idea of this revolution,
3'ou have told us about one meeting; do you know of any other
propaganda in this country ?
Mr. Leonard. No; I know of
Senator Overjian. In magazines and papers?
Mr. Leonard. None ; except that the New Eepublic print, it seems
to me, is as one-sided as the stuff of the so-called tools of capitalism
print.
Senator Overman. This article from which Senator Wolcott has
read here, does not that sound a little bit like it might be
Mr. Leonard. It seems to me too optimistic. The trouble is that
a good many of these writers go to Petrograd and Moscow and meet
the most intelligent Bolshevik leaders, who make themselves very
nice to them, ancl they can make a very good impression, because they
are educated. They talk about this great ideal, and nobody can op-
pose them. Then those people come home and say that it is a
fine program. I know one magazine writer that came over there
and was personally conducted through some of the prisons, and came
out in an article saying that the prisons were better than they had
been, and were not bad. Well, I was never personally conducted
around, but the only good things that I saw were what was left over
from the old regime, in the prisons.
A.nd this same writer met Al. Peters, " one of the nicest men she
ever met." He was assigned as interpreter for the Bolsheviki. He
was a man who was shooting people without trial all the time.
Senator Nelson. He was the lord high executioner?
Mr. Leonard. He was the man who told the Norwegian attache
that he was going to shoot us. He said that we were all counter-
revolutionists. He said that without looking at our papers. When
we got back these papers had not been touched.
Senator Nelson. He AViis the kind of man that Byron speaks of
in his poem " The Coreair," of whom he says :
He was tlie mildest-mannered man that ever scuttled ship or cut a throat.
[Laughter.]
Senator OvER:\tAN. Their government looks prettj' good on paper,
but their actions do not correspond with their theory. It was testi-
fied here this morning that these fellows feel that they have a right
to do as they please and take what they please, and do as they-please
generally. Do you believe that?
Mr. Leonard. Do I believe in that?
Senator Overjian. Do you believe that that is so ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes; that is their program.
Senator Nelson. Did you come across Albert Rhys Williams over
there ?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir.
Senator Nelson. You never met him?
Mr. Leonard. No, sir ; I knew- that he was there ; but, as I say, I
was in the provinces most of the time.
Senator Nelson. Did you know anything of his activities?
jMr. Leonard. Nothing; no, sir.
Senator Nelson. You lost a good deal.
Mr. Leonard. I guess I did.
BOLSHliVIK PROPAGANDA. 223
Senator Wolcott. Do you know anything about their program
looking forward to socialization of women?
Mr. Leonard. I was in Samara at the time that came out in the
papers, and I have in my possession, some place, their placards deny-
ing that. They say that is not true. They say that was put up
by the counter-revolutionary element in order to discredit them, and
that it was done by a group of anarchists who have since been
arrested by the Bolsheviki.
Senator Wolcott. Do you know Avhether that placard was put up
in their buildings ; or have you knowledge of that ?
Mr. Leonard. I have no knowledge on that subject. It was not
put up in other places where I had been.
Senator Wolcott. Was that the only thing you saw over tliere that
indicated, or that gave any justification for the idea, that tlie so-
called program for the socialization of women was in their minds?
Was that the only piece of evidence you saw ?
Mr. Leonard. That was the only piece of evidence I saw. They
are aiming toward free love. They are doing away with the marriage
ceremony, and they have, of course, adopted a civil ceremony; and
in some places they have it for a term of years.
Senator WoLcott. I want your opinion on that, because this writer
winds up with an article and says that after all the test of it will
be this, " How will it ailect the Ijabies of young married folks, and
folks who do not get along very well? " You say this is a part of
the doctrine of these leaders, that they want to reform the marriage
relation and make terms of years for the married state, and inaugu-
rate free love?
Mr. Leonard. Yes ; that is in their program.
Senator Overman. How did you find their morals there, among
the men and women ?
Mr. Leonard. They have a different moral standard from what
we have in America.
Senator Overjian. Are they bad?
Mr. Leonard. They have more of the oriental attitude.
Senator Xelson. That man, Maxim Gorky, I believe his name is,
whom they have taken into the fold, is about as immoral as they can
make them.
Mr. Leonard. There was great rejoicing when he came back to
the fold.
Senator Xelson. He is bad enough to leaven the whole Bolshevik
mass.
Mr. Leonard. I do not think they need much leavening.
Senator Overman. But they rejoiced when he returned?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Nelson. He was over here in New York for a while.
Senator Wolcott. Who is his assistant?
Mr. Leonard. —■
Senator Wolcott. Commissar of education?
Mr. Leonard. Yes. For a time he withdrew from them and was
bitterly opposed to them, and scattered editorials against them, and
then he came back.
Senator Nelson. My recollection is that he was over here in New
York a while, and that he left the country in disgrace, because they
did not approve of his having a bereft wife with him.
-24 BOLSHEVIK PEOPAGAXDA.
Senator Overtax. Do you know anything about their taking over
a lot of young girls in a seminary and putting the Bolshevik soldiers
in with them ;
Mr. Leonard. I never knew of that.
Senator Overman. Is there anything else, ^lajor?
ilr. Leonard. I will say that the program and the spirit of the
Bolshevik party i.b directly opposed to religion and to what we know
as the home.
Senator "Wolcott. "What is their argument for declaiming against
the home?
Mr. Leonard. They say the home does not give the children a fair
chance. They have not had a happy home experience, and those
who have lived in the poorest quarters say it does not give every-
body a fair chance; that everybody ought to start e(jnal, and the
children ought to be taken and put in government institutions and
given the same education. They say this has grown up from capi-
talism : that true love does not enter into marriage ; that now it is a
sj'stem of barter for social position and for wealth, and all of that, so
they are going to have love, and provide for the children in govern-
ment institutions.
Senator Wolcott. That is to say, the children will not grow up in
home surroundings *
Mr. Leonard. No.
Senator AVoLcorr. If they cari-y out their program, then, the future
men and women will have no recollection of home life or of the home
fireside, with their parents there.
Mr. Leonard. Xo; the_y are opposed to that.
Maj. Humes. The theoi'y is that the children are to be taken care
of by the State.
]\Ir. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xklson. They are to be nationalized?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Maj. HriiEs. Yes; nationalized in that way.
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Xelson. And they do not believe in marriage, because it
is a part of the creed of the capitalist class, is not that it?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. Are they in favor of divorce?
jMr. Leonard. It is very easy to divorce.
Senator Overman. They do not have to go to Reno? They have
no Eeno?
Mr. Leonard. Xo.
Senator Xelson. You do not have to go into court to get a divorce.
The man just makes a declaration or writing to the woman and says,
"' I divorce you," and that is all there is to it.
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
vSenator Overman. Has the woman the same right to say that she
divorces the man?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. So the women have got equal rights over there?
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Sterling. Do you think, Mr. Leonard, that these prin-
ciples appeal to the ordinary Russian peasant very much, or is this
the doctrine of the leaders who are pre:iching it?
iJOJLSHBVIK PROPAGANDA. ^'^0
Mr. Leonard. I do not think that it appeals to the Eussian peas-
ant ; but the unrest has come from the peasants who have been abroad
in the industrial cities in Eussia, where they have had poor surround-
ings and have been ill paid, and where "the propaganda has lieen
going on among them for years, and they have been taught that they
are the degraded class, the exploited class, all of them. So there is
where the ti^ouble is coming from, and from the industrial workmen,
rather than from the peasants. The peasant had one need. The
peasant really needed land, and wanted it, and when he got land he
was satisfied.
Senator Xelsox. They have one advantage now, that they do not
have to go to Nevada or any of these western cities to get a divorce.
They can get it at home.
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
Senator Overman. What about the churches? Do they attend
their churches?
Mr. Leonard. Yes ; the peasants still attend the churches. But the
church, of course, has been disestablished, and the Bolsheviki are
carrying on an endless propaganda against the priesthood, against
the clergy, and they are playing up everything they can against the
clergy, and they publish tliat in the papers.
Senator Overiman. Can you give any reason for that?
Mr. Leonard. To ' discredit the church because the church has
been a department of the state. It has been a very conservative in-
fluence and has not given the spiritual leadership to the people that
the people needed. They call that party opposed to the church the
Black Hundred.
Senator Wolcott. I supjDOse they recognize the psychological fact
that if thej' can destroy the faith of any people they get the people
into a condition where the}^ can overthrow anything they want to
overthrow ?
Mr. Leonard. Yes; and that is just it. The peasant did not know
what he Avas fighting for .in this war. He Avas fighting for one
reason, because the Czar told him his duty called him ; and the Czar
and the church were very closely united, and when the Czar was over-
thrown most of their faith fell aAvay. If now the Bolsheviki can
discredit the church, the poor peasant is absolutely helpless. He has
nothing to cling to.
Sena^tor Wolcott. He is driftwood, so to speak?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir.
Senator "Wolcoit. He must move the Avaj' his leaders Avant to move
him?
Mr. Leonard. Absolutely.
Senator Nelson. The Eussian Church Avas the backbone of the old
Government, and Avas the one connecting link that kept the peasants
attached to the GoA-ernment, Avas it not, to a large extent?
Mr. Leonard. Yes, sir ; to a very great extent.
Senator Nelson. Has the church lost the influence that it had
in the past ?
Mr. Leonard. It has lost its influence among the industrial classes.
Senator Nelson. But among the peasants?
Mr. Leonard. The peasants still go to church. Where their priest
has been bad, they have gotten a new priest there, but they have not
85723—19 15
226 BOLSHE\^K PROPAGANDA.
turned agiiinst the church, and even as hxte as August there was a
decree gotten out i:)i-ohibiting the hanging of icons in any public
building or any building belonging to the state. Before the war
with Germany, in every building there was a little icon hanging up
in the corner. Down in the department of the Bolshevik Cossacks
they still had all their icons hanging up, because they said they were
called for. The soldier commissar tried to make them put them out,
and they said they could not do it, for if the Cossacks believed that
they were anti-Christian they would not have their support at all.
Senator Xelso>'. In the great chaos that prevailed after the death
of the imbecile son of Ivan the Terrible there was an interregnum
of 29 years in Eussia, and it was through the church that they
finally gathered themselves together and elected INIichael Romanoff
as the Czar, supplanting the old line of rulers, and it was through
the church that they succeeded in rallying the new government
together. Xow, do you not believe that in the pi'esent emergency the
church will be a great help
Mr. Leonard. I have faith to belie ve-
Senator Xelson (continuing). In the rallying and gathering to-
gether of tlie Eussian people against this Bolshevik system?
Mr. Leonard. If the church can help itself and produce a leader
who can unite Eussia.
Senator Xelson. You recollect that in the French Eevolution they
attempted to destroy all religion, and the church altogether, but they
failed in it ; and they will fail here in making war on the Eussian
Church. Do you not think they will ?
Mr. Leonard. That is my opinion.
Senator Nelson. The peasants and the church and the Cossacks
and the conservative element will get together, and inside of six
months they will eliminate that Bolsheviki crowd?
Mr. Leonard. Once the}' can all get together. That is the question.
Senator Overman. ]\Ir. Leonard, hoAv many of this middle class—
the bourgeoisie, as you call them — have fled Eu.ssia on account of this
terrorism ?
■]\Ir. Leonard. I could not estimate it, but a gi'eat number. These
Scandinavian countries are filled with them. They have not fled
Russia, but fled Bolshe-^ik Eussia. Kiev was crowded with them,
and Eostov. and the territory of the Don Cossacks; and then, to a
somewhat smaller extent, the northern Caucasus, after the anti-
Bolshevik forces cleared out of the place.
Senator Oversfan. When you left there what was the difference in
the population of Moscow from what it was when you first went
there ?
Mr. Leonard. I do not know about ]Moscow. I was brought up
under guard.
Senator Overman. How about Petrograd?
Mr. Leonard. Petrograd has a population of about half a million
now.
Senator Overman. How much had it in normal times I
Mr. Leonard. Away over a million.
Senator Overman. It has been stated here that it was nearly
2,000,000.
Mr. Leonard. Yes.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 227
Senator Nelson. In normal times it had about 2,000,000?
Mr. Leoxaed. Yes ; the population was told me bv several men.
Senator Nelson. At Moscow they had about 500,000 or 600,000 in
normal times?
Mr. Leonard. I do not know. I should say the population was
lario'er than that.
Senator Steeling. What has become of some of the revolutionary
leaders there — the leaders in the Duma at the time of the breaking
out of the revolution — like Miliukoff ?
Mr. Leonard. Miliukoff was down in the Ukraine, down in Kiev.
One was down with the Don Cossacks, with Gen. Krostoff. I under-
stand they have scattered around. Another remained in tlie north-
ern Caucasus.
Senator Overman. What became of these great generals?
Mr. Leonard. Brussiloff was wounded, while lying in bed, by street
fighting. Alexieff died last August, and Demetrius
Senator Overman. What became of Brussiloff? ,
Mr. Leonard. He was wounded, and I have heard the rumor that
he has since been killed.
Senator Overman. What became of Korniloff?
Mr. Leonard. He was killed.
Senator Overman. Where is Kerensky?
Mr. Leonard. He is over in England some place, is he not?
Senator Overman. How about Nicholas — what became of him?
Mr. Leonard. He was down in the Crimea when the Ukraine was
taken by a force of Germans and Austrians. I think he is still in
the Crimea — still in Kiev. The Germans said they were going to take
him a prisoner of war, but he Avas in the Crimea at that time. Since
that I have heard nothing.
Senator Nelson. Wliat became of Nicholas?
Mr. Leonard. The grand duke? He is the man I Avas just speak-
ing of.
Senator Overman. He was one of the greatest generals the war
has produced, in my opinion.
Senator Nelson. Yes; he was a great general.
Senator Oatseman. What has become of these first revolutionary
leaders?
Mr. Leonard. They have gone down to these other regions which I
have named, where the class is bourgeois. Some have gone out
into the Scandinavian coimtries, but very few. There are none of
them in power. Many of them are in Siberia.
Senator Overman. The banks have all been taken over, have they
not?
Mr. Leonard. The banks have all been nationalized, and all the
private banks have been reopened as branches of the national bank.
When I left all bank deposits had been arrested : and then for a time
you could get out 100 rubles a month on check, which was later
raised to about a thousand rubles a month by check, and then the
people objected to that. Of course there were no deposits under such
conditions, and then they put in a condition that of any money you
deposited after a certain date you could draw as much as you
wanted. Then people deposited money, but when they tried to draw
it out the banks said they did not have any money, which was the
truth.
228
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGAJJDA.
Senator Overman. I suppose everj'body that had money on de-
posit took it out ?
Mr. Leoicakd. Most of them could not get it. The turnover came
too quick.
Senator Xelsox. Tliey commandeered all the money?
iMr. Leoxaed. Yes, sir.
Senator Overman. Did you hear any talk there about doing away
Avith all money and not having any money at all?
Sir. Lkoxard. Xo; but they might as atcU do something like tliat,
because the present money does not amount to anything. In each
little district there are a dozen making counterfeit money. Some of it
is made in Austria, some is made in Germany, and a great deal is
made in Eussia itself.
Senator Xelson. No specie circulates there?
Mr. Leoxard. Xo, sir.
ilaj. Ht::mes. Gentlemen, I have here for the record — I do not know
whether you want it all read or not — an excerpt from the official
Bolshevik newspaper detailing their state budget for the second half
of the year 1918, showing that the total amount of expenditures of
the republic for 1918 is estimated at 48.000,000.000 rubles, or about
$23,000,000,000. Do you care to have it all read?
Senator Overman. No; just put it in the record.
(The matter referred to is as follows:)
THE STATE BX'DGET FOR THE SECOND HALF-YEAR 1018.
The work in connection with the drawing up and examinntion of the budget
of the Republic for the second half of 1938 and the general balancing of same
has been completed.
The total amount of State expenditures for the euri-ent ha!f-vear is estimated
at 29,000,000.(100 (17,000,000,000, or 70 per cent above the previous lialf year).
The total amount of expenditudrcs of the Republic for 1918 is estimjitetl at
40,000,000,000 rubles.
The first place, in proportion to the amount of expenditures, is occupied b.v
the military rommissariat, the total amount of the expenditures of which
!s set at 9,500,000,000 (7,700,000,000 ordinary expenditures and 1,700,-
000,000 e>:tra(jrdinary). Comparing this with the total for the 0rst half-year
(5,800,000.000). the expenditures of the commissariat increased by 3,700,000,000,
that is 63 per cent.
The second iilaee is held by the expenditures in connection with the organiza-
tion of economic and trading conditions of the State and the exploitation of
the State enterprises. The expenditures are distributed among the depart-
ments as follows : To the commissariat of ways of communication and the
chief management of waterways is apportioned 4.2 billion rubles ; to the com-
mittee of the State constructions — 1 billion ; to the Supreme Council of State
Economics — 1.6 billions ; and 800,000,000 for operating expenses and for the.
cover of excess expenditures in connection with the nationalization of enter-
prises. The total amount of expenditures of this character entered in the
budget is estimated at approximately 8,000,000,000 (27 per cent of the total
amount of expenditures).
The following place in the budget is occupied by the expenditures for edu-
cational purposes. In comparison with the first half-year the apportionment
for the commissariat of national education is 5 times greater and is estimated
at 2.4 billions (against 0.5 billion for the first half-year.) In general the total
amount of expenditures for educational purposes reaches 12.5 per cent of the
total budget.
The fourth place in the budget (10 per cent of the budget) Is occupied by
expenditures which are created by the extraordinary economic conditions of
the nation, i. e., expenditures foi' organization of food supply. For this pur-
pose, according to the estimate of the commissariat of food supply, the latter
BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA. 229
is apportioned for the current half year 3.1 billions — that is, two and one-half
times move than in the first half year.
Especially noteAvorthy, in comparison with the budgets of previous years,
are the separate estimates for health conservation, social insurance, regulation
of labor and insi'iranc« of same. Are insurance, and for work in <M)nnection
with different nationalities. The total expenditures, according to these esti-
mates, equal 1,000,000,000 (3.5 per cent), having increased five times in com-
parison with the amount of the first half year.
Other departments in proportion to their expenditures are as follow.s : The
Coirmissariat of Finance, 1.2 billions; the Commissariat of Interior, 618,000,000;
the Commissariat of Justice, 236,000,000; State Control, 64,000,000; the Cen-
tral Shitistical Department, 48,000,000; the Commissariat of the Property of
the Kepublic, 40,000,000 ; the all-Russian central executive committee of Soviets,
32,000,000; and, final].>% the last place is occupied by the Commissariat of For-
ei.gn Relations, with an apportionment of 5,000,000 roubles.
AVith all its advantages the budget has vital defects, namely, its deficit ; the
total of State revenues for the second half year is estimated at about 12.7
billion rubles. Consequently the difference between the expenditures and the
revenue is above 16.000,000.000. Takins into consideration the fact that out of
the 12.7 billion rubles of the State revenue, 10,000,000,000 rubles are derived
from special taxes, that the ordinary revenue of 2.7 billions Is only approxi-
mately estimated, and that according to the first half year the income does
not come up to expectations entertained when compiling the budget of reve-
nues, the deficit of the budget appears to be still of a most serious character.
TESTIMONY OF ME. ROBEET M. STOEEY.
(The witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Senator Overman. Where are you from?
Mr. Storey. Urbana, 111.
Senator Overman. How long have you been back from Russia?
Mr. Storet. I got back in AugTist.
Senator Overman. How long were you in Russia?
Mr. Storet. About a year and four months.
Senator Overman. What position did you hold over there ?
Mr. Storey. I went over as the representative of the American
Young Men's Christian Association. I was in European Russia for
about eight months and in Siberia for the balance of the time, in
charge of the work there.
Senator Overman. Go on and state in your own way the conditions
over there.
Mr. Storey. The impression made upon me when I went into
Russia was cumulative, to the effect that we were entering a country
which had been very seriously worn out by the war. The condi-
tions in Siberia were not so bad.
Senator Nelson. Did you enter from the Siberian end ?
Mr. S'torey. I entered from Vladivostok.
Maj. Humes. Where were you with reference to the revolution?
^Ya.s it before the Bolshevik revolution?
Mr. Storey. It was after the March revolution, yes; but as you
got further into Russia it became more and mere apparent tliat you
were in a country that had been at war and the resources of which
had been seriously drained.
Entering Moscow early in November, I was there daring the strug-
gle between the cadets and the supporters of the Kerensky regime
generally against the Bolshevist movement. The fighting there
lasted for about a week. It wavered back and forth. Troops which
were bronp-ht in from the outside to help support the government
230 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
were in almost every case turned to the support of the Bolslievist
group, and finally, about a week after the fightinp; started, and after
considerable damage was done and perhaps 2,000 lives had been lost,
the Bolsheviki were able to take command of the city.
Senator Steeling. What influences were brought to bear on those
troops to win them over to the support of the Bolshevik movements
Mr. Storet. My judgment there is that they probably had been won
over before they were brought into reach of the city. Certainly the
morale of the entire Eussian Army had been thoroughly rottecl out
long before any American visitors reached Russia. Mj own judg-
ment is that the damage had already been done before the first revolu-
tion took place, and that at no time, probably, after the fall of 191(1
was there any expectation that the old army could be rehabilitated
and made into an effective fighting force for any of the causes or
appeals which could then be made to them. Certainly at no time
after the Your.o,' Men's Christian Association became active in the
field Mas there any such opportunity.
Senator SteeluvG. That disaffection among the troops at that
early tirhe was clue to Bolshevik propaganda?
Mr. Stoeey. No; it was not, altogether. It was due to the circum-
stances of their life. They were poorly armed, poorly equipped, and
they did not know why they were fighting or what they were fighting;
for, particularly after they had lost confidence in their leaders, as
the.y did. The stories of corruption of the old regime during the war
almost paralleled anything that I have met with since. The fall of
Riga, I have heard it said many times, Avas the result of a dicker for
millions of rubles' worth of supplies.
Senator Steeling. The old regime having fallen and the Czar hav-
ing been deposed, did not the troops have faith in Kerensky?
Mr. Storey. No; I think not. At one time it seemed as though
he might rally them. No part of Russia wanted to fight after the
revolution. A certain part of it felt under obligation to do so, but I
have not encountered any enthusiasm in any part of Russia for con-
tinuing war.
Senator Steelixg. Did you hear anything of the failure of Ker-
ensky in the matter of discipline? Did he not relax the army dis-
cipline to such an extent that it aided this Bolshevik sentiment?
Mr. Stoeey. I have heard two sides to that. One was that the pro-
visional cabinet was responsible for that famous edict, No. 1, which
did relax the discipline, and the other was that it was a spurious
document that had been sent out and which they did not have the
courage to combat quickly enough.
Senator Steeling. The soldiers got to understand that they did not
have to salute their superior officers?
Mr. Stoeet. Certainly; that was true.
Senator Steeling. Anct claimed that they stood on the same foot-
iiif exactly as an officer ?
Mr. Storey. Yes, sir.
Senator Steeling. And were entitled to the same privileges and
the same accommodations and everything?
Mr. Storey. They did not go to that extent all at once, but that
was a gradual development as they felt their power. The tendency,
as they became familiar with their officers, was to become more so.
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 231
Senator Overman. It has been said here that the Bolsheviki had
great antipathy to the Yoimg Men's Christian Association. AVhy
was that?
Mr. Storey. Their attitude toward the Young Men's Christian
Association, I should say, was twofold. I ought to say that up to
the time the Young Men's Christian Association definitely allied it-
self with the Czechs, it Avas tolerated in liussia and was permitted
to do considerable work, and was giA en some facilities for its work ;
but there came a time when, owing to the fact that it was working
also with the Czechs who were fighting the Bolsheviki, they de-
manded that it make a choice. As a matter of fact, I think that
choice never actuallj- had to be made, because the American Govern-
ment ordered its subjects out of Russia; but certainly the association
was on the eve of having to make such a choice. The two reasons
are, in the main, these, that owing to their past knowledge and con-
ception of Christianity as exhibited in the Eussian Church, an
instrument of the old regime, they were anti-Christian. To them
that was what Christianity represented. The second reason was that
they were suspicious that the American Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation "was in Russia for the purpose of assisting to keep Russia in
the war, and was an instrument of the American Government and the
capitalistic grou^js who supported the association in helping to re-
store the moi'ale of the Russian Army, and the soldiers did not want
that, nor did, of course, the Bolsheviki care for it; and I think it
would be truth to say that the utterances of some of the association
leaders as to the reasons for sending men to Russia and for sending
men to make the effort there were that it was in order to hold the
Russian Army on that front. Whether those utterances ever reached
Russia or not I do not know. Certainlj' we had that to combat
constantly.
Senator Overman. When was it that you left Russia ?
Mr. Stoeet. I left there the last of November.
Senator Overman. After the signing of the armistice?
Mr. STOiiET. Yes; after the signing of the armistice. I was in
Siberia the latter part of the time I was there.
Senator Overman. Can you go on and give us your judgment of
the condition of things over there, the terrorism, and so on ?
Mr. Storey. In the main, I think I could summarize the situation,
as I looked at it, substantially as follows. May I preface that by
saying that my interest was rather that of a student of the Govern-
ment, because that has been my teaching field, and I was interested
in it from the standpoint of politics and political science as mudfi
as any other. During the time that I was in Russia I spent some
time in Moscow, some time with the troops, and some time in Petro-
grad. I was in Finland during the revolution in Finland and dur-
ino- the period of the German occupation there. I was back in Russia
and in Petrograd some time after the allied embassies left it, and in
Moscow at the time of the peace conference, and have been in
Siberia with the Czechs during the greater portion of their stay there,
and was there prior to their arrival a. short time.
In my dealings with the Bolshevik leaders I have generally had a
courteous and, I should say on the whole, a frank reception and
treatment. There was that satisfaction in dealing with them, in the
232 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
main. If you were at the source of authority, they did not mince
words about what they would do or what they would not do. One
of them told me frankly that they were tolerating our activities
until they would be able to take over that kind of work. They did
not propose to tolerate us anj- longer. One of them said frankly
that they were anti-Christian, and said why, pointing to the past
history of the Eussian Church as an illustration.
I think this is a reaction, from talking with them and reading their
pamphlets and their papers, and hearing them speak. They aspire,
undoubtedly, to a world-wide rule of the proletariat. They do not
stop at means which it is necessary to employ in order to achieve those
ends, but on the other hand, there is this to be said, in part, for that.
They have lived under a regime which knew no exceptions to the
processes by which it attained its purposes, either, and I am disposed
to think that a great many of the excesses and the outrages which un-
doubtedly took place were the result of nervousness on the part of un-
trained and ill-disciplined soldiers, or of armed groups, from an army
many units of which were disbanded with their arms. ^lany of these
soldiers wandered about over the country for weeks. They did not
know where they were and did not know how to get to their homes.
It "was also true that a great many of the men who took up with the
Bolshevik movement were poor adventurers, unscrupulous, and went
in on it because that was the way the tide was running.
Senator Steeling. Did not that class of men have a good deal of
influence among the poorer classes ?
Mr. Storey. Undoubtedly. There were some very clever men
among that group. A great many of the old secret police, I have
heard, were actually in this movement, men of training and men of
influence, although I know that a great many of the men who are in
the movement are idealists of the most sincere type.
Senator OvEpaiAx. Did you know Trotsky?
Mr. Storey. No; I did not. I have heard him speak. I do not
know him personally, however.
Senator Overman. What was the character of his speech? What
did he preach ?
Mr. Storey. Well, he was making an address to a company of
about 400 Lettish soldiers who were quartered in a prince's palace or
clubroom in Petrograd, and the speech was largely inspirational.
Senator Overman . Is he a fine talker?
Mr. Storey. Yes; he is a rather striking man to see, and certainly
a very imj^ressive speaker. I, of course, had the extreme disad-
vantage, which a great many of us had, of having to hear him
through an interpreter, and that is not always an accurate and satis-
factor}^ method of getting the substance of what is said.
Senator Steeling. In talkin.cr Avith those leaders, Mr. Storey, and
with the more intelligent of them, did they seem to have the idea
that they could form a. permanent society and government on the
class principle, in which the proletariat should rule alone, without
reference to what thej' termed the bourgeoisie, the tradesmen or
middle-class people?
]Mr. Storey. Their conception, of course, of social organization
was radically socialistic, and while I got the impression from them
that for the present their attitude toward these groups was uncorri-
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 233
promising, yet in theory they did recognize differences in ability
between men. They would not under normal circumstances, I think,
have objected to a teacher soTiet. for example; in fact, they had one
in Vladivostok when I reached there, and it sent its delegates to the
assembly of the city just as did the ditch diggers and the factory
workers, and other groups of workers. I do not have personal knowl-
edge of the facts, but I understand that there has since been made
a classification of workers which recognizes that there are some
people Avho must do inside work, so lo speak, cluur work — that
is, work of a sedentary character. They recognize, in other words,
brain work, although it is not permitted to claim thereby a larger
proportion of the total production of society. Does that answer your
question ? I think there is no question that they had that idea.
Senator SteeliiSig. The three classes which the Soviet constitution
recognizes, as I understand it, are the laborers, the peasants, and the
soldiers.
Mr. Storey. Those are all member's
Senator Steelixg. And they further declare in that constitiltion
that no one belonging to the bourgeois class, the traders, or anyone
making a profit on any in^•estnlent or receiving an income from in-
vestments, shall participate in an election, or be elected to any
position or office.
Mr. Stoket. Substantially, I think that is their attitude to-day.
Senator Sterling. They clo not say that their government is a
democracy.
Mr. Stoeet. Oh, no. I would say that it was quite a shock to me
that I did not meet in Russia anyone, high or low, who had been in
the United States, Bolshevik or non-Bolshevik, who cared to see
American civilization duplicated in their own countiw. There was
a very unfavorable impression as to our Government on the part of
Russians that I met with.
Senator Sterling. They really do not believe in representative
government ; is not that true ?
Mr. Stoeey. Their objection was not so much to our representative
system as to our industrial system.
Senator Sterling. Well, if carried out into government, politically,
they did not believe in a government that would represent other than
these three classes ?
Mr. Stoeey. Their expectation is that they will soon reduce
all to those three. They are, for example, achieving that purpose.
Undoubtedly certain sections of the middle classes are having to sell
themselves to the Soviets. Men with brains and wits are hiring out in
order to live. I saw officers sweeping the streets. I have seen refined
women selling newspapers. Their quarrel is not with the ability, but
with the utilization of that, as they feel it does deprive others of
something.
Senator Oveeman. They have no respect for the educated lady of
property ?
Mr. Stoeey. She is forced into this, not by physical violence, as I
know, but by necessity. If the funds of a doctor's household or a
lawyer's household run out, they have to get out and make their
living.
Senator Oveeman. They have to do manual Avork?
234 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAUAXDA.
Mr. Storey. Yes.
Senator Sterling. Well, if they desire to or find it necessary to
utilize those who are educated and who are intelligent, do they recog-
nize any proportionate reward for services of that kind i
Mr. Storey. They would claim, I think, that the reward >houkl be
substantially equal.
Senator Wolcott. Let me understand that. May I ask a question?
I can understand things in concrete terms better than in any other
way. Let me see if I understand that proposition. Is it this, that
some lazy fellow who is just driven to make a .slight contribution in
the way of work, who will not improve himself in anywise, who does
not care whether he lives in a pig pen or a comfortable home, but yet
does a little work. gets as much for it as a hard-working, eonseientitius,
frugal individual (
Mr. Storey. Well, in practice that is the way it would work out.
In theory, they do not recognize the human element in it.
Senator Wolcott. They go on the theory that everybody does his
best and everything should be equal, overlooking the fact that some
who are forced will not do their best, but will do as little as they can.
Mr. Storey. I have heard it said that it was not necessary for any
man to work until his back ached; that enough could be produced
without that. I have heard that remark in Russia.
Senator Overtax. I want to ask you a question that I have asked
others. To what extent have vou noticed anything of a Bolshevik
movement in this country? Have you observed anything going on
in this country as propaganda ?
Mr. Storey. I have not taken particular notice of it since I re-
turned, because I have been here on a rather highly specialized mis-
sion, and have concentrated upon that. I have noticed in the circn-
lars and other articles a keen and active desire to know about it.
Invariably, wherever I go, I am questioned about it. As for evidences
of organized activity, I simjily have not encountered it. if it exists,
probably because I have not been circulating.
Senator Sterling. Have you seen any of the publications made by
the I. "W. W.. or under the auspices of the I. W. W., in this country,
and do you know from them how they regard Bolshevism ?
^Ir. ST()Rf:Y. Xo : I have not. I met a former I. W. W. — I beheve
in Siberia — who said he had been in the lumber camps of the West.
He was apparently not as extreme as some of the gentlemen who
are in authority over him. But my impression about the relation
between the I. W. W.'s and t-he Bolsheviki from the other side ^vas
this : The Bolsheviki were appealing to all discontented elements in
other countries, irrespective of who they were. Beyond that I woidd
not be able to make any direct connection between them.
Senator Over^ian. They have the same flag?
Mr. Storey. They recognize in them a protesting element — some-
thing in common.
Maj. HtJ3iES. ISIr. Storey, did you see any of the terrorism in
Russia for the purpose of perpetuating control, at any of the places
where you were ?
Mr. Storey. I saw two sides of it. It was equally evident. I think,
in Finland, where the reds had control, and on the other side of the
line where the whites had control. I can not sav that I have a
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 235
feeling that any one group of the Russian population is moi'e fero-
cious in its attitude toward the other than another group is.
Maj. Humes. In other words, a state of civil war existed?
Mr. Stoeet. Yes.
Maj. HuMKS. Everyone is armed, and they are fighting ad libitum.
Mr. Storey. Russia demobilized 7,000,000 men within a short
period of time, and those men took thair arms with them in a great
many cases, thousands, tens of thousands of them, and how much
of the terrorism that exists is due to the want of a strong central
authority, and how much of it is due to deliberate planning, I can
not say ; I do not know.
Senator Overman. We want to hold an executive session for an
hour. We will excuse you.
(Thereupon, at 4.55 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee went into
executive [secret] session.)
executive session.
The following testimony was taken by the subcommittee in execu-
tive session, and the name of the witnes.s is not disclosed because of
the fact that the lives of his relatives in Russia might be endangered
thereby :
TESTIMONY OF MR. .
(The Avitness was sworn by the chairman.)
Maj. Humes. Mr. , suppose you go aliead and state the con-
ditions in Russia as you found them, and especially conditions under
the soviet government.
Mr. . I have been in Russia close on to 15 years. I was
located there with a factory, where we had about 2,500 workmen.
Our factory is running to-day, and even last year, by our last jJ'ear's
production we filled all our orders. But nobody can explain — I could
not myself — just exactl_y how that was done or why it was. We
seemed to have unusual control over the men there, and because of
the fact that we were making machinery which was necessary for the
country the workmen stood by us and we ran through.
I have heard and read the statement that the present government in
Russia is a Avorkmen's government and all that sort of thing. In my
estimation that is absolutely false. I have been with the workmen.
That is all I have done; I have been with the workmen and peasants.
I never met Prof. Dennis there, or anj^ other of these gentlemen
here, because I never had time. I was always with the workmen.
The workingmen in Russia, in the factories, are not Bolsheviki, al-
though they do not dare to say they are something else.
Senator Steeling. Do you mean to put it so broad as that?
Mr. . I do not mean to say that there are no workmen
who are Bolsheviki. I am taking the workmen as a whole. It is
the worst element out of each factory, the Avorst element out of the
country, that has come to the top, and they are supporting the gov-
ernment. They are supporting this government, being paid, of coui'se,
large sums, and being given the privilege to loot or anything that
they wish. It would not do to question a Red Guard. If he said
something — told you to do something — you would not dare to ques-
tion it. If you did that it would l)e as much as your life was worth.
236 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
And now, as I say, the government over there is made up of the
loafers of the industrial and the peasant vrorld, and all the outsiders
have come running in from other countries. If you go into Moscow
to do any business with the Bolshevik governmtnt and you come
upon any of the people higher up in the government, j^ou never
meet anybodj^ that was born and brought up in Eussia up to the
date of the revolution. You' meet a man that was born there, prob-
ably, and went out and came in from the outside after the revolution
was on. Those people are supposed to be worldng at salaries that
are often to-day, I believe, below what the workingman was getting,
below what it would take a man to live on, a decent living wage
that he was supposed to be getting. In fact, they are getting much
more money on the side and lots of them are making fortunes.
In regard to the industries there, when the revolution started, tlie
Bolshevik revolution around the 1st of November, 1917, the worlmien
all went with the Bolsheviki. They were all Bolslieviki then, or
nearly all, because the Bolsheviki told them '' Everji:hing is yours.
Just take it. You have been opj^ressed.'' They sang such songs to
those men that it certainly did turn their heads.
Senator Sterling. But since that time?
Mr. . Since that time things have changed. Three or four
or five months after the revolution took place the workmen began
to open up tlieir eyes, and saw that things were jiot as they thought
they were. Thej^ are afraid to say so. You will very seldom get a
workman to say tliat he is not a Bolshevik, but he Avill tell you in
secret that he is not a Bolslievik. " But wliat can I do? " he will say.
"I do not dare to say anyihing. I can not do anytliing." They are
all terrorized, just as the peasants are.
Maj. Humes. What are the means used to terrorize them?
Mr. . Shooting them.
Maj. Humes. Are shootings frequent?
Mr. . Yes.
Slaj. Humes. Tell us any incidents of that sort.
Mr. . I can tell lots of incidents of jDeople disappearing
by being shot. You know they are shot, because of the number of
persong disappearing. In Russia they have no place to put them in
jails. Tliey are just sliot, that is all.
Maj. Humes. "Was there an eifort made to seize vour factory?
Mr. . Yes.
Maj. Hu:mes. ^'\'hat was the manner in which they undertook to
seize it? What was tlie method used?
Mr. . There was a decree put out that all factories were na-
tionalized ; that the factories must be under the control of the work-
men's committees, etc. We had a worl^men's committee in our
f actor3% but our worlnnen's committee said to us, " We do not want
to control this factory. We are perfectly satisfied as it is." Now.
tliat is about the only factory in Russia where they have acted in tliat
way. Why it is I can not tell you. It is possible that it was because
of this. I would aslv, '" How is it that the workmen do not take our
factory? Wliat is the difference between the other factories and our
own case ? '' Tlicy would say, " In the other factories the owners do
not work. They jnst come around occasionally. But here it is differ-
ent. You are on the job before I am."' They would say to me, "We
find the superintendents on the job before we are. You leave after
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 237
US." In that way we had their confidence and we were able to carry
the. thing through. Xow, it wa,s not true in other factories in Russia
that the managers were ahvays on the job. They were sometimes
never onthe job. It is true that they were not as strict as we were
about being around. Some of them would come around for an hour
and look around and go away. So they took those factories, and ours
they did not take.
Senator Overmax. Where is your factory?
Mr. . In European Eussia.
Mr. Dennis. What happened to the factory?
Mr. . I was at the factory in September. It shut
down — absolutely shut down.
Senator Steeling. Those were not the factories, were they, where
the committee visited the manager and told him that they had come
to take over the factory, that they were the owners of it now, and
the manager just said, "All right, gentlemen; I must pay out 30,000
rubles next Saturday. Here are the pajjers, etc.; take them"? And
thev replied to him, saying, "That is your job."
Mr. . Yes.
Senator Sterling. And he told them in reply that if they wei-e
going to take the factory they must take the responsibility.
Mr. . Yes.
Senator Sterling. And that changed the color of things.
Mr. . That is true in many, many cases.
Let me tell you what I saw at one factory. The factory was shut
down. They had a lot of good men that had worked for years, and
I tried to get some of them. I was sitting with the manager talking
as one of the men came in and left a note on his table. He said,
" Just a minute." In a few minutes the same man came back and
said, " They will not wait. They Avant you right away." He said,
■' You see I am busy. What can I do? " " It is the committee." " I
can not do anything : it is the workmen's committee and I can not do
anything with them." I said, "What is up now? " He said, "I do
not know. Let them come in." So I said good-by and went away.
He told me afterwards, " They came in and ordered me out of my
house, took mj household furniture and everything, and I am out in
the street." He was cleaning up papers and things. That is what
happens to 90 per cent of the factories.
Maj. Humes. How long did they operate that factory?
Mr. . They never operated it.
Maj. Hu3iES. Just closed it down?
Mr. . Just closed it down.
Senator Oa'erman. What became of the operatives, the workmen?
Did they go into the army?
Mr. — . The workmen just scattered, looking for food.
Senator Overman. Looting, I suppose.
Mr. . Yes.
Well I will say, in regard to why our factory was not nationalized,
that the workmen, Avould not allow the government to nationalize
it sayino", " If 3^011 nationalize this factory you will close it up the
same as the others, and we want ' our ' factory to work."
Senator Sterling. Because of the goods produced?
Mr, . Possibly. And we had kept telling the workmen right
alono-, "Do not jump at these things. Keep back, and let the other
238 BOLSHEVIK propaga>:da.
fe]lo\\-s try out their experiments, and if it is good perhaps we wil]
do it." So when they saw what the other factories did, that they
Avere all shut up in a week or two, our workmen thought that they
had better not do this. The government sent down to a committee
to say they would shoot our workmen's committee if they did not
take over our factory, and oui' workmen's committee came to us and
said, " "What can we do '. They are going to nationalize the factory
and shut us doAvn." '" Well," we said. '" hold on, and let us stand
together and we can probably do something."' We fought it out with
the government and the workmen said that they would not work
for the government, and that if they touched any of us they would
go out on strilve and woukl not work. They said that the gov-
ernment could never turn out a macliine. So, in that way that affair
blew over. AYc went into that matter pretty well with our work-
men's committee and found out what the cause of this was. and
what started it. It had gone ^long 8 or 10 months without talk of
nationalizing our factory, they had kind of gone around us. but
suddenly it came uf). After we went into it we found it was about
the same as in other case-., somebody looking for the job of manag-
ing the factory. When they find a factory they will go to the
Bolsheviki and say, '" Here is a job. Give me this f jictory and I will
run it."
Senator Overman. Does he run it or not?
Mr. . Whether it ^-uns or not, he gets his pay ; and if it does
not run, if they do not manufacture anything, the government gives
him money to pay the men Avith. I know an instance of a factory
a few miles fi'om ours where the gOA'ernment spent 60,000,000 rubles
to run the factorv for three months, and in that time they produced
goods Avorth 400,000 rubles. Xoav. if it took 60,000,000 rubles to pro-
duce goods Avorth 400,000 rubles, that explains the Avay factories are
run under Bolsheviks.
Senator Overman. What sort of a factory Avas it I
Mr. . A locomotive Avorks.
Senator Sterling. If that is a fair sample of the Avay in Avhich
the goA ernment runs them, nationalizing them is not an entire suc-
cess.
Mr. . Yes: they have failed to keep the workmen satisfied
and they have killed the hen that laid the golden egg. In order to
keep the Avorkmen quiet tliey pay them, and the workmen drink tea
and read newspapers and smoke cigarettes in the shops instead of
Avorking.
Senator Sterling. What about the value of that money?
]Mr. . It is the only means of purchasing they have got — that
money.
Senator Sterling. It is paper money representing rubles?
]Mr. . Yes, and Avith that they buy AA'hat they can. But they
can not buy much.
Senator Sterling. Has not that money been depreciating all the
time ?
^Ir. . Certainly: you can go and buy something to-day that
would cost 30 rubles and to-morrow it Avould co-t 80.
Senator Sterling. Do you knoAv Avhat the extent of the deprecia-
tion is in the Eussian ruble ?
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 239
Mr. -. I do not know. Let lis take it this way. I used to buy
a suit of clothes for 60 or 70 rubles. Now, I doubt if you could get
one for 2,000 rubles.
Mr. Dennis. And you would hare to hunt for it to buy it at that.
Senator Steeling."^ Two thousand rubles for that which thereto-
fore cost 60 or 70 rubles ?
Mr. . Yes ; almost forty times.
Senator Overjeax. When did you leave Russia ?
Mr._ . I crossed the frontier on the 7th of October.
Maj. HiTMES. What experience did you have with fines — as to
being fined '.
Mr. . The g'overnment tried to fine us in every way, shape,
and manner — that is, to levy taxes. We refused to pay. The govern-
ment used to get at the workmen's committee and ask, " What kind
of a revolutionary shop are you running? " We told the committee,
"Do not be hard on us or we will get out." In most cases they did
just the opposite ; but they tried to put taxes on us in every way.
They were afraid to use force on us, and our committee backed us
lip by refusing to do what they wanted it to do ; and then we had 300
armed men at the factory. We had 300 men fully armed and trained,
so that if anything happened they would start a little row. It is
pretty close to the city, and they would not want anything started
there.
It went along for a long time, and I left Eussia, and it was not paid.
None of the taxes were paid. One tax was 900,000 rubles. In one of
the reports that has been made since I came back one of the men
writes that they are being pushed pretty hard to pay.
Senator Steeling. The taxes were imposed by the Bolshevik gov-
ernment ?
Mr. . Yes.
Senator Overiman. Nine hundred thousand rubles ?
Mr. . Altogether, about four and a half million rubles;
that is, in ordinary tax. If they think a man has anything at all,
they will tax him for all he has got.
Senator Sterling. Were you taxed pretty high under the old
regime ?
Mr. . Xothing like that. If we paid a tax of .50,000 rubles,
we thought that was pretty big. The figures now run into millions.
Now, if you pay this tax to-day, in two weeks maybe they will come
around to collect the same tax again. We pay that into the local
soviet, but we do not know Avhere it goes to. AVe have not any idea.
Before I came over from Eussia I tried to get out by way of
Siberia to the Czecho-Slovak front, and I was in Nijni Novgorod,
where Prof. Dennis was. I even called to see him, but he was gone.
I had about a month going from door to door with peasants, go-
ing right through the country, just knocking on the door and asking
them to let me in at night. I spoke Eussian well, and I used to have
some pretty good talks with the peasants, and I tried to get their
idea of the Bolsheviki situation. The peasants in Eussia are abso-
lutely opposed to the Bolsheviki. Before they would let me into the
house they would ask. "Are you a Bolshevik?" And when I told
them I was not a Bolshevik but that I was an American, then they
would open everything and give me anything that I wanted, when
they knew that 1 was an American. But they Avould not let me in
240 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
until they knew that I was not a BoLhovik. They treated me very
fine.
Now, as to elections in Eussia. I will tell you of an election that
I saw in this town. I talked with a man that participated in it. At
one place they had a soviet which was elected just at the beginning
of the Bolshevik revolution, and it ran along for a whole year. Thev
were in jDower, but the Czecho-Slovaks were coming up and the peo-
ple, the peasants all around, would say. "' When are they coming?
Why do they not come ''. ^Vhy do the allies not come I The allies
are right close up." They used to point to some place where you
could say that the allies were. I do not know how they used" to
find it out, but it passed from mouth to mouth. In the city which
is the capital of the state of Xovgorod, where there was a soviet,
they heard that the soviet in this town of Xijni Xovgorod was not
as Bolshevik as it should be, and the ]:)eople around there were pretty
anxious that the Czecho-Slovaks shoulcl come in; so one day they
sent their men down there, three delegates, to meet and talk with
them, and the soldiers rounded up as many of the members of the
soviet as they could and shot some of them, but some of them got
away.
Senator Sterling. Just for the reason that they were not Bol-
shevik, they were shot?
Mr. . That is all. Then they called a meeting of all the
peasants who were elected to represent the diiferent villages around—
this was a county' seat; that is what it Avas.
Senator Steeling. A county soviet?
Mr. . They called them in to hold another election and
one of the men told me this story. Here are the very words that they
used at this election. They called these peasants in and one of these
men from the capital said to them, "' We have got to elect a new soviet.
This soviet is going to be Bolshevik. If you elect any man to this
soviet that is not a Bolshevik we will shoot him. Any man who is
here that is not a Bolshevik can get out."
Well, they pretty nearly all went out. A few stayed around. 1
do not know whether they were Bolshevik or what they were. They
had some elections, but they did not elect enough men. Whether
they could not find enough candidates or whether there were not
enough If^ft in the paity I don't know. So one of them just went
around the village asking who were Bolshevik, and they went over
the village and picked out men for that soviet. I looked into the
character of one man protty well and I found that he was a drunk-
ard, had never owned, you might say. the shirt on his back; just a
thug. He was one of the representatives. He was called in there
and put in, and told " You are elected." That is the way they car-
ried on the election there, and I think you will find that that story is
typical of how they elect their Soviets all over Eussia.
Senator Sterling. How are those members of the soviet appor-
tioned among the population ; what is the ratio ?
Mr. . TJiat I have forgotten. I think it is 1 to every ^.I.OOO
workmen and 1 to every 42.">,000 peasants. There has been a com-
plaint about it on the part of the peasants.
(Thereupon, at .5.30 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee adjourned
until to-morrow. Friday, February 14, 1910. at 2.30 o'clock p. m.)
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
FRIDAY, rEBRTTAKY 14, 1919.
United States Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, D. G.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 2.30 o'clock
p. m., in room 226, Senate Office Building, Senator Lee S. Overman
presiding.
Present: Senators Overman (chairman), King, Wolcott, Nelson,
and Sterling.
Senator Overman. The committee will come to order. Maj.
Humes, will you please call the next witness?
Maj. Humes. I will call Madame Breshkovskaya.
TESTIMONY OF MES. CATKERINE BEESHKOVSKAYA.
(The witness was sworn by the chairman.)
Maj. Humes. When did you leave Eussia?
Mrs. Breshkovskaya. I left Russia two months ago.
Maj. Humes. When you left Eussia what was the condition of the
schools in Eussia ? Were they in operation ?
Mrs. Breshkovskaya. We had no schools, we had no teachers, we
had no pencils, no inks. Even when I was in Moscow, for months
we could not get ink. When you did get it, it was very bad.
Maj. Humes. Do you know whether the schools are in operation
in any part of Eussia?
Mrs. Breshkovskaya. There were schools last year, but now they
are empty. The teachers were thrown out by the Bolsheviki, and
many had nothing to do, because they had no furniture, no materials
to teach the children. There were also no books. I was asked by
my teachers to come to America and to pray, and pray very deeply,
to bring some millions of books back to our peasant children, for we
had no books.
Maj. Humes. When you loft Eussia, were any of the factories in
Russia running?
Mrs. Breshkovskaya. Perhaps you have read in your papers and
perhaps you have learned from your own people in the Eed Cross
and the Young Men's Christian Association in Eussia that there is
no clothing, no food, and no goods. Even our cooperations have noth-
ing to sell to the peasants, for we have no industry now at all. The
factories are destroyed, and there are no importations, for we have
no transportation ; no railroads for transportation.
Eussia gives the privilege to every American to come there, and
it is our custom and habit to give preference especially to the Ameri-
85723—19 16 241
242 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
can people. For many years we were accustomed to treat the Ameri-
can people as our friends. Up until this time the Russian people
were fond of the American people, and they were not afraid of their,
intervention.
Industry is quite destroyed, and we have no furniture for the use
of our schools. We have no machines ; we have no tools, no scissors,
no knives, or any of such things. We have here many merchants who
came to beg something for Russia, some goods ; but nothing is running
to transport them.
Senator O^^erman. Where is your home, madam ?
Mrs. Beeshkovskata. My home, sir, is Russia.
Senator Overman. What part of Russia?
Mrs. Breshkovskaya. All over. I have no home of my own; no
house, no home.
Senator Nelson. What part of Russia were you born in ?
Mrs. Beeshkovskata. You know, perhaps, that half of my life I
spent in prison and in Siberia.
Senator Overman. How long were you in prison ?
Mrs. Beeshkovskata. Thirty-two years.
Senator Overman. Thirty-two years in prison ?
Mrs. Breshkovskata. Yes; in prison, in exile, and at hard work,
altogether, in the hands of our despotism, for 32 years ; that is all.
Senator Overman. What is your age now ?
Mrs. Beeshkovskata. Seventy-five.
Senator Wolcott. For what were you in prison ?
Mrs. Breshkovskaya. For socialist propaganda among my people.
We have had a dynasty of moiiarchs, who were terrible despots, in
Russia.
Perhaps you have all heard that 15 years ago I was in America,
and I told all that to your citizens.
Senator Overman. How does the condition of the Russian people
to-day compare with the condition when you first came over here?
Mrs. Beeshkovskata. We Russian socialists and revolutionists
were so happy to see Russia free two years ago, and we hoped when
we got quite free to get excellent laws for her freedom all over
Russia, under the government of Kerensky. We got political free-
dom and personal and social freedom, and we hoped to begin to
build the Russian State on a new form. We could do it, for the
government was in the hands of the people, and all the peasants
and all the workmen and all the soldiers were together and accepted
those laws. We hoped to get land for all, and the Kerensky govern-
ment wrote many times in the papers and announced that the people
ATOukl get the land, but that we should wait until there could be a
national assembly which would confirm all these new laws. So I
say that for six months the Russian people were free, and had in their
hands every possibility to have order and to have freedom, and to
have land.
Senator Overman. Have you freedom there now?
Mrs. Breshkovkaya. Perhaps you know, sir, that many years
ago the German Government sent her spies over to Russia and pi'e-
pared this war ; and not only the Germans, but many Russians who
were abroad. When the revolution Avas on and everybody was free,
and Russia was about to have a constituent assembly, out of Germany
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 24 £
came Lenine and Trotsky with their group, and all these traitors of
Russia came to begin their propaganda. Perhaps you will say it was
the fault of our provisional government not to take them and put
them into prison. Perhaps you will say it ; but the government was so
liberal and hoped to see our people so happy with new possibilities,
that it would not make any arrests. It was too liberal. And, as vou
will remember, it was a time of war, and Russia was weary of this
war, and there were 20,000,000 Russians, grown up boys and men, who
were sent to the front, and for three years Russia was forced to work
only for these 20,000,000, making nothing for herself. The people
were tired and weary, and our soldiers, when they got the propaganda
from Germany and from the Bolsheviki who came into Russia, were
very glad to hear it. They believed that the German population were
brothers of our Russian soldiers, that the German soldiers and the
Russian soldiers were brothers, so they had no reason for continuing
the war.
Then Lenine and Trotsky, with the aid of German money, over-
flowed Russia with their propaganda.
We also have now many, many millions of paper money printed
by Lenine and Trotsky, and it is a great misfortune for Russia. All
the people who served our tyrants in Russia, the old bureaucratic
class, the gendarmes, all those of the old regime, became Bolsheviki,
and they made a large company who would overthrow the regime of
Kerensky in Russia.
After October of 1917, when we saw that the Kerensky govern-
ment was overthrown, with all faithful servants of our people we
immediately addressed our hopes and our prayers to our so-called
allies. I myself, 14 months ago, wrote a letter to the ambassador ot
America, Mr. Francis, exposing to him all that was done; that we
had no national assembly in which people could express their views ;
that it was overthrown by the Bolsheviki, and instead we came under
two gendarmes, Lenine and Trotsky. Our people, believing perhaps
at first that they would do some good, even listened to them. Lenine
said himself, " Nothing will be of us. There will be another czar
after the Bolshe^'iki. But a legend will remain in Russia after us."
But now, these days, all say Russia is in fault. I wrote to your
embassy in Russia that if you would be so good as to give us some
support (from 50,000 good soldiers of your armies) the Bolsheviki
would be overthrown. Yet I got no answer.
Meanwhile in Siberia, and over all Russia, the criminals were set
at liberty, and after the Brest-Litovsk peace we got in Moscow two
mighty rulers, Lenine, and Gen. Mirbach from Prussia. He was
there, and he was all over Russia. He asked to get all the Germa.i
and Magyar prisoners to be gathered and armed, to malce new troop.i
against Russia. He asked, too, to disarm at once the Czecho-Slovaks,
who forced their way to Vladivostok to get to France. Lenine obeyed
these orders and sent troops to do it. The Czecho-Slovaks had no
more desire to remain in Russia. They wished to go to France. Rus-
sia, after the Brest-Litovsk peace, could not use their forces, so that
they tried to get to Vladivostok, and their little army of 80.000 troops
were dispersed over the Volga and awav about Siberia. Mirbach
understood that this was so much good for those soldiers to j::3i ">
France and come back against Germany, so he gave the order to^
244 BOLSHEVIK PKOPAGANDA.
disarm them. The first troops, who were nearest to ^Moscow, were
disarmed. Yet they left some arms with them. Then IMirbach
ordered to disarm tliem all — every Czecho-Slovak soldier.
Then came some Eed Guards from the part of the Bolsheviki out
of Moscow, with some oificers, and they asked the Czecho-Slovaks to
be disarmed. The Czecho-Slovaks understood that if disarmed they
would be as prisoners and left in Siberia, and that Mirbach would
make of them all he wished ; so they decided not to go to Siberia and
not to he disarmed, but to turn toward the west, and they began to
fight — these gallant soldiers.
First, they took the town of Nicolaievsk, and then Omsk and then
Tobolsk.
All the time Lenine and Trotsk}' and all the so-called Bolsheviki
were entertained and given support from Germany by the German
Kaiser and liis Government. I do not know if the German people
were in this complot. Certainly German soldiers, many of them,
were, for they would make show of their brotherhood to our soldiers.
After disorder grew, after all our factories and mills were de-
stroj'ed in Moscow and Petrograd, all our depots and supplies which
had been provided by our zemst^'o, by Kerensky's government, all that
was given to the Germans. The Bolsheviki could not oppose in any
wav. They were quite dependent on the German Government and
Mil-bach and the other German generals, for we had no army, and he
would have the support of the German Government.
Senator Steeling. Were German soldiers helping the Bolsheviki
against the Czecho-Slovaks ?
Mrs. Beeshkovskata. Help themi Against the Czecho-Slovaks?
Certainly, and the Czecho-Slovaks combated vtry well with the Ger-
man people and the Magyars. They hated them, yes. Now they are
entirely for themselves, and as they have their own republic, they
would go back. Now Russia will be left quite alone. Yes ; if we had
our own forces ; the Russian forces against the Bolsheviki. We had no
organization to fight with them. The Bolsheviki grew and grew in
forces. Idle men, who did not have any work, for all the factories
were shut, nolens volens became Bolsheviki, too, because there was
nothing to eat. The industries were all gone. The factories were
shut, and there was no material to work on and no desire to work on
the part of the workers. They said all the bourgeois had to be over-
thrown, and the workmen would work alone to make our industries.
Not so many, but a few, of the Bolsheviki gave the example of giving
the factories into the hands of the workmen. In one or two months it
all was destroyed. Nobody worked, and they could not continue be-
cause they were inexperienced in these matters.
Our peasants alone are working in the villages. There is not any
industry since then. For instance, take the coal mines; it is so easy
to use them. But they could not use them. You must feel, yourself,
the need of the Russian people.
We ask you for everything. We ask you to give us paper, to give
us scissors, to give us matches, to give us clothes, to give us leather to
make boots. We ask everything; not because we are so poor, but all
our riches are under the ground. Russia is destroyed in industry and
husbandry. There is no industry at all. What'we need is to" have
handicrafts in Russia, to have schools, and to spin and weave, and to
BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA. 241
make boots; because we are naked. I am ashamed to expii^ss myself
that we are like mendicants now; that ^^'e must ask everything,' ever
things like this [indicating a penholder], but it is so. Vou'know
when you send your Eed Cross you send your medicines and (•vi>r\
sort of necessity. If you came without your own medicines and othei
things, without your clothing, you would do nothing, because there if
nothing to work with. '
Also I assert that the Bolsheviki destroyed Enssia and divided h
and corrupted the people of Russia. They turned loose on the peo-
ple all the criminals that were out and in the prisons. They are mm
with the Bolsheviki. They have ne\-er a yoA ic-< com|:0£;:;;l ^,J all h ,.:. ji
people. They are the refuse of our people in Euasia.
And now you ask, how does the people support such conditions '(
Dear me, our people supported for 300 years our desj^otism, and
when 15 years ago 1 was here in America I was asked '' If youi
despotism is so bad, why do you people stand it? " Our peoi^le arc
illiterate. Our people never had access to the government ; never hac
sense to deal with the political questions; ncA-er were pei'mitted tc
read papers where was stated the truth. Our people are like children
There is a person here who has spent three years in Russia, ami he
■says to me, " Oh, yes ; to understand the psychology of your people
one must understand the psycholog}' of children." They are good-
hearted and openhearted, and they ha^■e confidence in everv'.ue
especially in those who after so many hundreds of cycles of repres-
sion and poverty and suffering will promise them to ha^o peace, as
did the Bolsheviki ; to have bread, to have schools, to have everything
They did believe it. Now. they do not believe anyone. But thcic i;
nothing now to have. And after that, I do not hope that any of oui
allies will be so generous — I will say so bold — as to give us armed
help. I do not hope.
I see everybody" is so much involved with their own affairs and in-
terests, that Russia is left alone. Yet the Russian people woidd be
raised up by those who would give them help, Avho would give them
tokens of their friendship not only with words and not only with
promises, but with real help ; to secure our railroads, for instance; tc
have for us school books ; to have for us merchandise and several sorts
of machines; for our peasants began to be accustomed t" have
machines out of Germany and out of America. Now, we have none
at all. All that wc had before is used up, now. For five years we
have not been working for ourselves; for five years, three years with
Germany and noAv two years in civil war. Lenine and Trotsky prom-
ised to make peace and to have peace in Russia, a'^d after their peace
with the Germans in Brest-Litovsk they said. " We will rec-.niSLruct
Russia "; and when German troops came into west Russia, and made
every sort of disorder, then Trotsky exclaimed, " We shall have a
crusade against Germany: " yet in tw,o weeks Lenir.c made a decla-
ration, " We are not so "foolish as to begin again to make vrar with
somebody, for certainly otherwise our efforts to deepen and dcoi)en
the revolution would fail," and instead of beginning to make war
with the German people, they began to make civil war in Russia ;
and instead of having one front, between Russia and Germany, we
have now, I will not say five, but I will say hundreds of fronts all
over Russia, for everywhere we have gangs and bands. Now. the
246 BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA.
people, being starving, being naked, they will go and serve Trotsky
or any leader or any general, who will make them brigands. Here
they turn around, and Avith Germans, and others, prisoners of Russia,
all Eussia is robbed, and all Russia has nothing now, and all Russia
will fight, perhaps, for many years among themselves, before they
get out of this boiling pot, and will find out an issue for themselves.
1 will not say anybody is in fault, no; but we are left alone, and
we do not now hope to get any support from any side. It will be
very hard for us to fight in our own countiy for five, six, I do not
know how many years, before we begin to be reasonable and strong-
minded, and understand our own interests.
Yes, the people is depressed, morally and spiritually depressed ; and
it is not so fresh, you know, not at all. Depressed, the people is. And
now bolshevism will not be finished in Russia so soon, for we see now
that it spreads more and more around Russia. When I was talking
to one member of our elected government. Gen. Boldoreff, he said,
" See. in some years we are going to give help and restore order in
Europe." Certainly, Russia shall help herself, and have rest and
order, and then it is quite sure that this venom of Bolshevism will die
out. You in America, you mix together Bolshevism and socialism. I
have been a socialist for 50 years, and 1 wished to get my people free,
and have all political rights in Russia;' and when two years ago we
got them, then I would say to myself, '" Now we will construct, and
not destroj\ We will construct; we Avill raise our people and build
and construct and create, to make a beautiful place out of Russia."
And the Bolsheviki are now saying, " We must destroy, and destroy,
and destroy."
I have a letter from one of m}'' young partners who brought his
wife from Petrograd to ^Vladivostok. Everywhere where the Bolshe-
viki are, there are no intelligent people; there is no intelligence; all
killed or hidden, for they destroyed not only our factories and our
mills, and not only our schools, but they destroyed, they killed, all the
intelligent people, the best professors, the best professional men, the
best men we had in Russia, hundreds of them; and I myself was
hidden for two months in Petrograd, and for six months in Moscow
before I left it. Thousands of old socialists, revolutionists, are killed
by the Bolsheviki as being
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